Devil Reborn
by bamafelix
Summary: Shirou Fujimura. Also known as the Demon King of Kuoh. After one deadly encounter with a Fallen Angel, he is brought back as a true Devil. The Pawn of Rias Gremory. With his Welsh Dragon-possessed Sacred Gear, he'll learn that he has not only become stronger, but has brought his bloodline back to its origin. OCxHarem
1. Chapter 1: The Demon King of Kuoh

**And here we go with my first real attempt at DxD! I've spent quite a bit of time going through ideas, and this is finally what I decided on! Thank Triplesquidge for having the patience of FREAKIN BUDDHA when he helped me create this! And be sure to read some of his AWESOME DxD stories while you're at it! **

**Please enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or anything related to it. All that stuff goes to their respective owners. I. Own. NOTHING. **

**Chapter 1:**

**The Demon King of Kuoh  
**

"Shirou-kun~!" Sang a familiar and cheerful voice. "Time to wake up, Shirou-kun~!"

The young teenage boy rolled over in his sleep, his eyes twitching. "Mmmm...Five more minutes..."

The older woman, about 27/28, standing over him sighed. She had long, white hair and green eyes and currently wore a red, long-sleeved shirt along with a black dress as well as a frilly, pink apron that could either make or break the outfit depending on how you look at it. She sighed.

"Well I tried the easy way." She then raised her leg high up into the air. "Shirou...WAKE UP, LAZY ASS! MAKOTO SUPER DROP KICK" She brought her leg down right on the sleeping occupant of the bed. Judging from the gasping and sputtering (not to mention the groans of pain), her 'wake-up method' was effective.

A young teen shot upright with a look of outrage on his face. "What the Hell, Neesan!?"

Makoto Fujimura took a stance like a bowing martial artist. "Such is the fate of those who defy the great Mako-neesan's will." Makoto's expression changed to a smirk. "I did give you a chance to take the easy way. Your fault for not taking it."

"SO YOU DROP KICK ME!?" Shirou ran a hand through his spiky, silver hair, mumbling something.

Makoto gained a cat-like smile. "How else do I wake up a lazy ass like you?" Shirou clenched his fists and Makoto seemed to ready herself for what appeared to a fight that was about to break out between the two. "So you wish to challenge the superiority of your dear Mako-nee, do you, Shirou-kun?"

Their epic stare down went down for several seconds before Shirou sighed, unclenching his fists. "Goddammit, Neesan..."

Makoto pointed one finger into the air. "BWAHAHAHA! Mako-nee wins once more!" Shirou's sweat dropped.

_I wonder if she could be arrested for child abuse._

"Whatever floats your boat." He didn't even want to bother. "Now can you get out? I gotta get ready for class."

* * *

Shirou's POV...

I came downstairs, clean dressed in my Kuoh Academy uniform and still drying my hair with a towel.

While I desperately wanted to get Mako-nee back, I knew there was no beating her. Even when I won, I somehow lost. Don't ask how. Makoto just works like that.

Now that I was dressed in his uniform and not covered by a blanket, it was incredibly easy to see my spiky hair the same color as my sister's and my dark-blue eyes. I wasn't a CRAZY muscular 17-year-old, but I was rather in-shape for someone my age.

"Oh Shiroooou~!" Sang Mako-nee cheerfully. "I made breakfast~!" I paled considerably. There were only two things I feared in this world:

The first was Mako-nee when she gets pissed (HEY! YOU DON'T KNOW, MAN! YOU DON'T KNOW!).

The second was Mako-nee's cooking. Having to ingest such a meal was a fate worse than death.

Even from my position on the stairs I could smell the vomit-inducing stench of that..._substance_ Mako-nee calls food. I deeply considered running back up the stairs and try leaving through the window. I weighed my options.

My choice was taken away when I felt Makoto drag me by the collar. "Come on, Shirou! You gotta eat before you leave for school!"

I desperately struggled against Makoto's grasp. There was no way in Hell I was going to die like this! Before I could object, Makoto sat me down in the chair in front of the table. "You better eat a big breakfast before heading off. I don't feel like getting a call from your school saying you fell asleep in class because you ran out of energy."

The stench of death became even more intense as my neesan laid a plate of 'food' in front of me.

It was black and purple and there was a strange-colored smoke rising off of it. I wasn't quite sure what strange things Makoto put into that 'meal', but I knew that she hadn't killed it properly if I had to judge by the tentacles sticking out of the shapeless mush on the plate. The tentacles were still moving.

My pale skin turned a light shade of green. I tried to stand up, but Makoto simply forced me back into my seat. She picked up a spoon filled with that 'stuff' and lifted it up to my mouth.

"Now, does neesan have to spoon feed you like when we were little?"

I couldn't help but feel disturbed by the malicious expression on Makoto's face. I could feel the spirit of death creeping over my shoulder every moment that spoon full of substance move closer to my mouth.

I thought there would be no stopping my inevitable demise...until I caught sight of the clock.

I excitedly shouted out from relief while pointing at the clock on the wall. "Sorry, Mako-nee! I gotta get going!" Makoto turned away long enough for me to make my grand escape. Before she had a chance to move, I jumped out of my seat and burst into a sprint towards the door.

I didn't stop running until my house was completely out of sight.

* * *

It took a good fifteen minutes before I thought it was safe to stop running after my house was out of sight.

I sighed. Makoto meant well, but sometimes it feels like she's trying to kill me. If she wasn't my older sister, I would've taken it seriously. She was pretty much all I had left.

At some point when I was little, our parents died in some sort of accident, she said. I don't remember their faces or if I ever really knew them. It's just been me and Makoto for most of my life. She was old enough to be my mother if you squinted your eyes a little and if she sometimes acted as such...but I made sure that everyone who meets her knows otherwise...

I shuddered at the thought of what happened the last time someone called her my mother...That was not a fun day. Everyone had such bad concussions that they luckily didn't remember who gave them those concussions. It was one of the many reasons I chose not to misbehave while Makoto was around. She thought I was the weak, little brother I had been back when I was little...well, I was her brother, that much had remained the same...but weak?

Hell no.

I've had plenty of challenges in order to keep in physical condition.

"Hey, Fujimura!"

Speaking of challenges.

I turned to the person who shouted out my name.

He was just your regular street punk...surrounded by several similarly dressed thugs. Seriously, these guys needed to have some kind of law to keep such events from seeming so cliche. I sighed.

"You guys again? You're more persistent than people who stalk celebrities." I dug my hands into my pockets, a tired expression on my face.

"Shut up!" shouted one of them. "Because of you our boss is still in the hospital! You must be a dumbass if you think we're just gonna let you walk away after that!"

I shook my head. "Really? 'Boss'? You are such a typical thug. I don't really remember kicking your boss's ass, but then again, I suppose it's no surprise if he's as unoriginal as you guys are."

"Why you-?!"

"Jeez." I then began to pulled one of my hands out of my pockets to scratch the back of my head. "You're just full of common grunt phrases aren't you?" Apparently that had been the last straw because the next thing I knew, I have something that felt somewhat like a fist slam into the side of my face. I didn't even flinch or fall. I took every last bit of force that fist had...

And then I laughed.

"I'm impressed. That almost hurt a little." The guy who punched me backed away in surprise. I slowly turned my head back towards them, the smallest of bruises on my face. "Now let me repay you in full for that." I pulled my other hand out of my pocket. "Let me show you why I'm the [Demon King of Kuoh]!" The guy who punched me didn't have any time to raise his fists as I charged him. I brought my left fist around and smashed it right into the side of his face, knocking him out cold onto the ground.

Not too long after the arrogant ass hit the ground, the next thug rushed me with what appeared to be a bokken.

"Die! FUJIMURA!" He brought the sword down on me as I crouched in what appeared to be some kind of dodge. But just as he brought his sword down I swung my right arm forward with enough force to knock the sword into the air. I then followed up by delivering a kick right to his stomach, sending him flying further back than his cohort.

I clicked my tongue. I brushed my hair out from in front of my face. "You know, I question the logic of trying to take me on one at a time." I opened my other hand just in time to catch the bokken that fell from the air. My grin returned as I pointed my new wooden sword at them. "Who's next?" They had apparently wizened up because the remaining four immediately charged right at me all at once. "So you're learning, huh? I like it!" I intercepted their charge. The first one also had a bokken but clearly no idea how to use it. He swung left and right, but I bobbed and weaved through each of his strikes before swinging my leg around, smashing it into his side and then recovering and then bringing my bokken down on the following thug's head, shattering it into dozens of pieces. Both thugs went out like a light.

I zoomed forward and caught the next guy's fist, throwing my own fist forward right between his eyes, hitting his nose with a satisfying crunch that informed me I had broken it. I turned towards the next thug who had clearly realized how quickly the tides had turned. He stumbled backwards before falling flat on his ass. He raised his hands in panicked surrender.

"I-I'm sorry! I n-never wanted to get involved in the first place but these guys talked me into it! Pl-Please! Have mercy!" Comical tears rolled down the sides of his face. He then threw himself at my feet and began begging once more. "PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON ME!"

I backed away uncertainly. This was so embarrassing that I felt embarrassed FOR him. I then looked at the watch on my wrist before sighing. I turned and walked back down the alleyway, turning my back to the last conscious thugs. He didn't have much common sense however.

"DIE, FUJIMURA!" I then felt something hard slam against my skull. I jerked forward and almost considered falling over, but I simply stayed where I stood. I didn't react when a warm liquid began to roll down the front of my head, threatening to get into my eyes. I turned my head ever so slowly to the formerly surrendering thug who seemed to have realized he royally fucked up. His eyes seemed to shine with fear. "H-Holy shit! Y-You're eyes! They're blood-red!"

He was probably telling the truth. I've been told quite a few times while I was kicking ass on other occasions that when I got pissed off enough, my eyes seemed to change to a blood-red color. I had Makoto take me to the doctor once to see if I had something wrong with me, but apparently it was just their imagination...but I wasn't too sure.

Whatever the case, I turned my piercing gaze towards the poor bastard. "You ever have one of those moments where you realize you should just walk away but instead choose to wind up in one of those 'oh shit' moments? This is one of those moments."

He had less than a few seconds to say "Oh shit" before I brought my fist back around. He apparently had his jaw clenched because I could feel some of his teeth break as blood spewed out of his mouth. He went down like a rock.

I looked among all of the unconscious thugs...hmmm...now that I think about it, maybe it would be better to label them as delinquents then thugs. But considering I'm labelled as a delinquent too (cos I get into fights. I'm not too bad when it comes to academics), I feel like that would be the same as saying they are on the same level as me which was utter B.S..

I checked my watch again. "Damn. You guys are gonna make me late for school." I sighed before putting my hands back into my pocket, not paying much attention to the bruises on my knuckles. I really had learn to stop overdoing it. Or maybe those guys should just learn to give up. Seriously. I mean if it's not one group of delinquents it's another. Everyone wants a go at the [Demon King of Kuoh].

But there wasn't much time to spend on that thought. Still had to get to school or Makoto would murder me when I get home. I quickly wiped off the blood from my head (it wasn't that bad of an injury) and with a bit of running/sprinting, I managed to make it to school with time to spare.

As I arrived with several other students coming close to being late, I couldn't help but feel the eyes that were on me. I could almost practically imagine what they were whispering to one another.

"Is that Shirou Fujimura?"

"Yeah. He's pretty much the school delinquent, but he's also the strongest guy in school supposedly."

"No way! Kiba-sama is my strong knight! Don't you dare belittle him...but I will admit that Fujimura-kun is kinda hot."

"Oh God. Please tell me you don't have a things for bad boys. Your parents would kill you!"

The other person giggled. "Maybe~"

It came to my attention that the conversation I was overhearing was between two girls. Deciding to test whether or not I was hearing things, I turned in their direction and flashed the slightest of smiles.

I was answered by the sound of excited shrieks from both girls. Huh. So apparently Kiryuu wasn't joking about that thing with me having fans. *Cue mischievous/evil laugh. Oh the ways I could abuse this to fulfill my dream.

Eh not really. After those two stalkers I had to get a restraining order against that one time (at Makoto's insistence of course. I wasn't afraid of anybody), I've learned to watch myself and to refrain from interacting with 'enthusiastic' individuals, resulting in me being nearly friendless (don't get me wrong. I like girls, but I'd prefer to actually KNOW them rather than some random girl I don't really know. It's just the way I roll.). I don't date chicks with stalker potential and most of the guys in school hate me because I'm popular with girls. So yeah. Almost entirely friendless.

And so I just casually made my way to the first class of the day. People either didn't pay attention or those that did made sure to make way. While a fair portion of the girls in this school apparently had a thing for me, the others did the only natural thing and feared me. Not that I minded...

I waited until I was in my desk. Like a stereotypical delinquent or others who do not care for school, I chose the seat in the far back corner next to the window. I didn't even bother pretending to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. The moment the bell rang, my head was face-down on the desk with my eyes shut.

No better time to catch up on some Z's than in school after all. It's not that I think I'm smarter than everyone else. I'm hopelessly average when it came to academics...but it was all just so...so boring. Even the guys trying to take my title started to all look alike. It was actually kind of worse considering I didn't have anyone to pass the boredom with. I mean I didn't have many real friends...

N-Not that I can't make any! I could make a friend just like that! I just choose not to...

I sighed as I chose to drift off into slumber...

* * *

So there wasn't really anything of note that occurred in my dreams. Not a single time I took a nap even when we changed classrooms. Nobody really ever seemed to care that I slept, not even the teacher. Perhaps it was because I was a delinquent or perhaps because they thought I would break their arms if they tried to shake me awake.

I hadn't realized that the last class of the day was over yet. I probably could've slept until the next day and I wouldn't have noticed had it not been for the helpful (read: annoying) magazine that had been used to smack me upside the head until I was fully jarred into consciousness.

"Get up already!"

Of course, considering the fact to most NORMAL people at this school this would be like poking a sleeping lion, there was only one person who would be brave (or stupid) enough to believe they were on good enough terms with me to be spared my wrath.

I growled at the only woman who would dare to do such a thing. "WHAT THE HELL, KIRYUU!?"

The brown-haired girl hefted her trusty magazine over her shoulder, prepared to swing again should I attempt to return to blissful slumber. The sunlight reflected off her 'supposedly special glasses'.

"Well you clearly didn't plan on getting up anytime soon, so I was just helping you out." Aika Kiryuu gave me a thumbs up. "You're welcome."

I could feel my eye twitch. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with you." I could feel my annoyance welling up inside my chest.

"Because I could easily go about embarrassing you by naming the size of the you-know-what of every last guy in school."

I sighed. She probably would too. Unlike most girls, Kiryuu bore no shame in using her 'special glasses' to measure a man's manhood. She was one of the two people I liked to refer to as a 'Pervy Glasses Character'.

"Just...just go die, damn you."

"Oh, then who would you pass the time talking to?"

"Tch." I quickly turned away to the window on my other side.

"You were drooling a little in your sleep. Might wanna clean that off your face." I felt the side of my face and felt something moist to see she was right. I quickly wiped off the saliva with my sleeve.

"Thanks." I yawned a little as I watched people either clearing up their things, just standing around and talking, leaving the classroom, etc.

"So what do you plan to do now?"

Ah. That was the question. A good one in fact.

I stretched my arms as I stood from my desk. "Who knows? Maybe pick up milk on the way home, kick the ass of the usual dumbasses who think they stand a chance against me, maybe..." I trailed off.

It was almost amazing how these were the only things I could think of.

In all honesty, Aika Kiryuu was perhaps the only person who I spoke regularly enough with to consider a friend. Sure her ability to find the size of a male's manhood was somewhat creepy and could be considered sexual harassment, but she wasn't a bad person. Maybe brave (or quite possibly stupid) considering she was the only person willing enough to try and befriend me. I have to admit I am somewhat grateful for that.

Due to the fact she was the only girl I regularly associated with, there were more than a few rumors floating around that we were an item...they weren't entirely unfounded. We did at one point try dating but in the end we agreed we weren't meant to be after three or four dates.

See. People make break-ups sound so difficult and tragic but they're as easy as pie if you and your friend mutually agree to it. Also-Oh yeah. Kiryuu's still talking. I should probably pay attention.

"I asked if you were listening." She said again, snapping me back to reality. I pondered my answer.

"No." What? No point in lying and making things worse.

Kiryuu didn't say anything, perhaps knowing me well enough to know that I was not paying attention.

"What I said was I heard that you've been hanging out with the Perverted Duo? I didn't think you'd ever become a part of their group."

And just like that, what was left of my good mood was gone. "Let's get one thing straight: I do not like those two. They are leeches who tend to bug me from time to time, usually because of some bogus rumor about me and some girl they're perving on." Then just to make sure she understood my point, I added, "I. AM. NOT. FRIENDS. WITH. THEM. Do not lump me into the same group as them. I am nothing like them."

"But aren't you a pervert too?"

"A little bit, yes," I admitted. Hey. I'm a man. It's only natural to have some interest in the female body. So what if I keep a few porn magazines hidden under my bed, "but I'm not looking through peepholes to spy on the kendo team changing, now am I?"

"I don't think they'd mind either way if it was you," Kiryuu said this with a suggestive expression on her face, "They might even invite you inside..."

I sighed and shook my head. She doesn't get it. It's not about just seeing a girl naked. I have several things I prefer to have in a woman. It's not about how hot their bodies are or their sexual appeal. I don't care about seeing the girls with their long, slender, and smooth legs and their sweet curves and...

I wasn't quite sure when I started drooling. Kiryuu started snapping her fingers under my nose.

"Shirou. Shirou! Earth to Shirou!"

I blinked as I snapped out of my ero-induced trance. "Huh?"

"Anyway, I gotta start heading home." Kiryuu declared.

It was at that point that I realized I wasted precious time that could've been spent either finding someone strong to fight or playing ero-games (I don't play them EXCESSIVELY, but KIRYUU was actually the one who got me interested in them one time while I was at her house...WE WERE JUST HANGING OUT!...now that I think about it...why DID she have a pile of ero-games?...Hm...maybe they're not just for guys I guess...maybe they belonged to her brother...).

I nodded. "Yeah."

"I would ask if you wanna walk home together, but you have a bad track record with getting into fights. I really don't want to get dragged into it."

"Can't blame ya." I packed up my stuff and the two of us went our separate ways for the day.

* * *

I held my backpack over my shoulder. I hung my head as I realized I had a big problem.

I held my hand to my stomach as it growled loudly. "Sooooo huuuuungry..." I ended up forgetting to bring my bento to school so of course no food for me. I just hoped Makoto had dinner started by the time I got home. At this rate, I might die of hunger before any rival delinquent can do me in.

Now that I think about it, I didn't have breakfast either. I might really drop dead thanks to my stupid stomach and its need for food.

DAMN YOU, STOMACH! DAMN YOU TO HELL!

I was crossing the bridge that led to the shopping district. I would just head down the stairs right by it and I'd be halfway home. Then it was all good.

"U-Um...e-excuse me."

Oh what now?

I turned to the girl who was for some reason speaking to me and my eyes widened the moment I laid eyes on her.

She was rather beautiful. She had long, silky, black hair and a rather slender body which was clothed in a school uniform. Her eyes were a beautiful violet color.

"Can I help you?" I asked with a rather rude tone of voice. I preferred to get straight to the point. She may have been cute, but I was hungry and really didn't feel like putting up with any bullshit at the moment. She could've been a representative of some other gang. Wouldn't have been the first time they used a pretty girl to try and lure me in. So if this was some sort of trap I just wanted to get it over with.

The girl blushed deeply, her expression becoming shy. "You're Shirou Fujimura from Kuoh Academy, right?"

OK. Girl who knows my name and where I go to school. My suspicion became even more intense.

"Yeah. What of it?" Come to think of it. I don't really recognize that uniform. Was she a transfer? Or was there some private school I wasn't aware of that was nearby?

The girl turned her eyes away, seeming nervous. "Oh, I uh..."

She seemed like she genuinely wanted to ask something and didn't seem to be leading me into some sort of a trap, otherwise she would've just done it already. That's what the other girls did. Then again, they could quite possibly be learning. There's no telling how clever delinquents can be.

"Do you need help with something? Directions maybe?" I asked in a genuinely helpful manner. If she got herself lost, it could be possible she came from a school a few neighborhoods away and just gotten lost.

The girl shook her head. "No. Nothing like that...I mean I...I wanted to ask you something."

Maybe she was related to someone I knew from school. She would certainly fit the same criteria of most as the girls there.

I shrugged. "Shoot."

"A-Are you seeing anyone right now?"

"No." was my immediate answer. Other than Kiryuu, I haven't really dated anyone in...a good few years. Nobody asked me out and I didn't ask them out. Any girl who was a candidate to go out with was either a fangirl and didn't bother trying to get to know me before asking out, they were afraid of me because of my reputation, or I just didn't like them (usually because they are agents of a rival delinquent).

The girl's expression brightened. "O-Oh! Wonderful!"

I stared. "How so?"

The girl seemed to realize how it sounded before she shook her head. "N-No I mean...I mean in that case...would...would you like to go out with me?"

I blinked at the sudden question. "Eh?" My mind had trouble computing what she just said.

'Go out'? Like...a date? It was so shocking that she just came out and asked. She was either incredibly brave or perhaps hadn't heard of my reputation as a delinquent. While it was incredibly tempting to dive in without thinking, it probably wouldn't be fair to this girl if she suddenly went to her school and started being called the girlfriend of [The Demon King of Kuoh].

"You do know who I am, right?" I gestured to myself. "I am [The Demon King of Kuoh]. Aren't you afraid I'll do ecchi things to you or get you involved in gangs or whatever the Hell kind of rumors people are spreading?"

The girl confidently shook her head. "I know what people say about you, but I don't believe what they say. You seem like a really kind and gentle person."

I could feel my mouth twitch as I held back laughter with every last bit of my self-control.

'Gentle' and 'Kind' were not words people usually used when referring to me and I told the girl as such.

"That's not true!" She said almost a bit more forcefully. She then suddenly slipped back into shyness. "I mean, I don't think they really know you. While most of the things said about you are about you being a demon, I also heard one positive story..."

Oh dear God. She knows about THAT.

"...I heard there used to be a street gang that took advantage of and extorted the owners of a nice, family-owned shop nearby everyday. Nobody ever bothered to step in, not even the police, but then one day...ONE person DID step in. Even though he was hopelessly outnumbered, he fought and beat up every last one of them and drove them off. I know that person was you."

I blushed slightly from embarrassment. That story was fairly true in some ways. I DID fight and kick the asses of each one of those A-holes, but it was only pure luck that I ended up helping that nice family. Really! I had no intention on purposely helping them! I didn't go out of my way to tell those extorting bastards to get lost or anything like that! HAHAHAHA!...Shut up, baka!

"W-Well, I..."

The girl didn't let up. "See...the thing is...I'd like for you to be my boyfriend!"

"A-Ah...I see." I muttered nervously. But on the inside, I was like this:

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! No way! She actually just flat out said it! Even if she worked for someone, a girl would never just say what she just said!

I shook my head, chastising myself. I knew next to nothing about this girl. To just say yes so easily was just plain stupid.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to-"

The girl's expression saddened considerably. I could feel my cheeks flush as I saw her eyes become reminiscent to those of a puppy dog. "I understand...I mean I just sprung it on you like that and...Oh I bet I look like some kind of weirdo right now! I'm sorry!" Her eyes began to water. "I just really like you and..."

Oh no! She's going to start crying! Quick, Shirou! Do something! Say something! Anything!

"I'll be your boyfriend!"

NOT THAT! YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!

My inner self then proceeded to promptly smack me upside the head and beat me like a punching bag. I never thought I'd need to plan out a reaction to such a situation so this girl caught me completely off-guard. I think I actually long for the classical 'lure you into a trap' trick.

"Really?!" The girl asked excitedly, as if uncertain if she heard right.

I sighed. I already backed myself into a corner so there was no reason to crush this girl who was, for one reason or another, in love with me. "Yeah. I guess I could do at least one date, Miss..."

The girl then seemed to panic slightly, as if berating herself for forgetting to introduce herself. "S-Sorry. I'm Yuuma Amano."

"I know you know already, but I'm Shirou Fujimura." I then proceeded to look Yuuma up and down. Now that I'm truly getting a good look, she's not a bad choice to go out on a date with. Her chest was admittedly amazing, she seemed like a nice enough girl...There was something else I needed to know. "Hey, Yuuma-san, could you do me a favor?"

Yuuma nodded. "Sure, _boyfriend_." She appeared to be taking that word out for a test drive. Technically, I only agreed to the one date, but I saw no point in pointing that out.

"Could you...just spin around for me?" Yuuma appeared to be confused by my request, but she seemed too happy to care. She spun around fast enough that her skirt seemed to levitate a bit in the air, allowing me a fantastic look underneath.

YES! Her ass was just as fine as the rest of her! While the oppai and the rest of the female body are nice, there is nothing quite like a well-toned ass! I'm also an ass-man. I admit it and I have no shame in admitting it. But above all else, I suppose I love a perfect ratio of oppai to ass. Neither too big or too small. Just right.

If she were an older sister type of girl, she would be perfect! If she fulfilled that last preference, I may have cried at that moment. Perhaps it's a good thing I didn't because Yuuma was starting to stare at me funny.

"So where do you want to meet, Yuuma-san?" I asked, still filled with the euphoria that had surged inside of my body.

Yuuma blushed again. "I-I was hoping we could um..." She probably would've started stuttering had her phone not gone off at that moment. She pulled her pink cellphone out of her pocket and stared at the caller ID. "O-Oh, I'm sorry! I have to be heading home right now, b-but-"

"We can meet here again tomorrow after I get out of school if you'd like." I suggested. "We can discuss our plans then, OK?" Yuuma smiled adorably.

"O-OK!" She ran off, waving goodbye. "See you tomorrow, BOYFRIEND!"

I waved slightly more awkwardly. "See you tomorrow..." While I was mostly uncertain about how I felt about Yuuma just assuming I would be her boyfriend, some tiny part of me actually felt a little happy about it. However, I would have to save my final judgement for our date.

Still trying to wrap my head around what happened, I continued my way home. But as I made my way down the stairs by the bridge, I had the nagging feeling that I was being watched. I tried turning around, but there was nobody else there. Eventually I just shrugged it off as my imagination acting up.

With nothing else to do, I continued my path home, my growling stomach tormenting me the entire way there.

* * *

Luckily I wouldn't have to go without dinner that night.

Rather than 'Cook', Makoto-neesan opted to order pizza instead.

We ate our pizza at the table in the dining room, an uneasy silence between us. Perhaps it was because I was usually the one who started the conversation. Makoto never really had to ask what happened to me everyday because she usually saw the bruises I got after kicking everyone's ass or when I came back complaining about how much of a pain school was. Clearly the silence was what tipped her off.

"Anything special happen today?" Makoto asked, finally breaking the silence.

I wasn't certain whether or not I should answer. If I did, it would seem like a big deal since I waited so long, but if I don't tell her, it would definitely seem like a big deal. Makoto tends to exaggerate things that seem out-of-character for me.

As I was pondering the answer, Mako-nee became rather impatient. "I SAID 'Did anything special happen today?'." Suddenly she was right next to my, yanking on my left cheek. I let out a growl of mixed pain and annoyance. "When your big sis Makoto asks you a question, you're supposed to answer it, Shirou-kun."

"Stop pulling on my face!" I smacked her hand away before I sensed a fight beginning to start. I puffed up my cheeks, turning away. "I just got asked out by a girl is all. No big deal." I then realized that Makoto didn't seem to be saying anything. I turned around to see her with her eyes wide and her mouth wide open in shock.

Drama queen.

"And you said yes?"

I nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?" I tensed when Makoto placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Oh thank all that is lucky in this universe!" I then noticed that her eyes were filled with tears of relief. "I was so afraid when you seemed to ignoring every single girl who looked at you filled with lust! I was worried you were about to enter _that_ world!"

"W-What?! What the Hell are you talking about?!" I wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, but a nagging feeling in the back of my mind told me I didn't want to know what she meant by 'that world'.

"I'm so happy you've shown an interest in_ girls_!" She then pulled me close to her chest and held me tightly. I felt my face heat up. Even though she was my sister, having her breasts press against my face was still horribly disconcerting. THEY WERE OPPAI FOR GOODNESS SAKE!

"GAH! Let me go, dammit!" I continued to struggle against my onee-san's killer bear hug, ignoring my embarrassment and instead focusing on annoyance. My face was steaming as the lower part of my face was buried in my neesan's clothed oppai.

Why meeee?!

* * *

It was the big day of my date with Yuuma.

Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad or awkward as I thought it'd be. I dared not say it aloud, but I actually had a little fun.

I figured I would have been a bit more suspicious considering I've never met this girl before. But somehow we ended up spending all day together. We were just a normal couple (I never said I was her boyfriend though! Earlier was just a slip of the tongue!) out on a normal date. I wasn't entirely unpopular with girls, but Yuuma was the only one who ever bothered to try and know me, not that rumored Devil who devours human souls. Maybe it was because she wasn't afraid of me or trying to seduce me that I had so much fun.

The most unusual think that happened was during the hour I had waited for Yuuma (she told me she had some sort of family meeting about something. Maybe her dad telling her to come back home still a virgin or something). Anyway, during that time, I got approached by this weird yet admittedly sexy chick in some sort of sexy bat outfit.

She simply handed me this weird looking paper and then walked away like nothing happened. I looked it over out of a mix of curiosity and boredom.

It was a small paper with an occult-looking feeling to it, a weird magic-circle, and a single sentence - "Your dream will be granted!" - written. I thought about showing it to Makoto. She usually had a weird interest in occult things like this. Sometimes when she saw occult-related things, her eyes burned with rage or lit up excitedly. Seriously, with the amount of energy she put in her reactions, you'd think she didn't know it was all a load of bull.

I didn't have any time to throw it away because it was then that Yuuma decided to show up and we began our fun date. It must've been the day the guy in charge of good fortune smiled down on me. Not a single time were we ambushed by the local delinquents.

I don't remember what was said or how I acted, but it must've been good because Yuuma almost always wore a smile except for certain points.

At certain points in the date, I felt this odd cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like some sixth sense was warning me that something bad was going to happen soon.

Thinking back on it, maybe my life would've been a lot easier if I just listened to that feeling and walked home...but easy is usually boring so I think I'm glad I didn't.

I don't even remember when the sun started to set, but at some point we had reached the climax of our date. We ended up at the park a bit of a ways from town. I felt myself actually grow nervous about what happens next. Would she ask for a kiss? Would we go further like in those ero-games I've played? Would it be one of those big 'I love you' scenes like in the sappier games I've played?

All of these questions buzzed about inside my skull. I began to wonder why the erotic part of my imagination was choosing now of all times to act up. Maybe I should try learning to get that under control. Maybe it was because I will (I WILL NOT ADMIT IT ALOUD!) nervous. Despite being one of the most popular guys girls ogled, I was...I was...I can say this. I was...

...a virgin.

Somehow, despite all of my strength and power, that one minor fact actually stung like Hell. Maybe my teenage mind thinks of that topic a big deal. I came close to losing my virginity several times over the past year or two, but I always decided against it at the time. At the time, it seemed like the best thing to do, but whenever my ero-imagination takes over, that fact pierces through my body like a sword.

Yuuma finally let go of my hand (I wasn't sure when we started holding hands) and walked in front of the fountain. She smiled sweetly and I felt my cheeks heat up a little at how cute she looked.

I scratched at my cheek, trying to think of something to break the silence. "Er...i-it sure was fun today..."

Yuuma's smile didn't waver, but something felt off. It was this weird feeling I had. It was the silence of the moment. Like the calm before the storm. The atmosphere somehow remained happy, but I felt certain something was different.

"Hey, Shirou-kun." She said. I attempted to smile, but like most of my other smiles, it looked a little forced. I'm not a naturally smiling person. Only when I'm laughing, blood thirsty, or being sarcastic do I smile naturally. Then again, I've never really felt comfortable with my smile. I just felt weird when people saw it.

"Yes, Yuuma? You need something?"

Yuuma walked closer to me and I felt her chest press against mine. "There is something I want to do to celebrate our first date. Can you listen to my wish?"

I glanced around cautiously, making sure there's no hidden thugs/delinquents hiding around, ready to jump me. I mean something about this felt suspicious. Upon confirming we were alone, I nodded. "Sure." I blushed lightly. Maybe it was the climax of the relationship like in the more ero-style visual novel-type games. While my ero-imagination started getting out of control again, I checked my preparedness for any outcome. Even my normal, less perverted side was starting to begin to believe that she would at least try to kiss me.

"Sure." I replied coolly. "What is it?" Yuuma continued smiling as she brought her lips close to my ear and whispered the words that changed my life and sealed my fate.

"Will you die for me?"

It was not the question itself that surprised me but the dark tone Yuuma's voice seemed to take on. I broke from Yuuma's grasp and backed away. I got a good look at her face and it was nothing like it was before. The warmth and kindness it had before was replaced by a slightly crueler smile.

Eh...? Maybe I heard wrong.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Um, could you repeat that again, please? I think something's wrong with my ears." Yeah. It was just me not paying attention. Yuuma smiled and clearly intended to oblige.

"Will you die for me?"

I wasn't sure what my answer to that was. I wanted to say "Of course. I would die to protect you." or something cliche like that, but I knew she meant it in a different way. I had hoped it would be a joke, that I could say "Oh haha. Very funny, Yuuma." It had to be a joke, right?

Then giant, black wings sprouted from her back. Large, black, feathery wings. Her clothes seemed to vanish, being replaced with what appeared to be some sort of S&M outfit with a cut off chain on her left arm. Her hair and eyes were the same color but they were a bit darker now.

No such luck.

She then started to flap her wings. The black feathers from her wings floated in the air before dropping down to my feet. At first I was about to mistake her from some sort of Angel, but from the look of her wings, I somehow knew differently. She wasn't an Angel, but she wasn't some sort of demon either. I knew that for sure. I was too focused on being confused to really focus on her outfit which did not leave much to the imagination.

My date flapped her wings while the sun began to set behind her. If this was a romance, it was certainly one of the most strangest ones I've ever seen...of course I was still delusional that this was going to end well for myself. Her cute eyes became cold and scary. Her voice, much colder, like an adult's, proving the previous times he noticed the change were not hallucinations.

"It was fun, the short time I spent with you. It was much more fun than I'd expected. I planned on it being boring, increasing my anticipation to kill you" She said, a little bit hesitant. "So thanks for showing a girl a good time." That last part was after her voice returned to being mocking.

At the time, I only had one thought: Bitch.

She spoke in such a condescending tone that I wouldn't mind hitting a woman as long as it was her.

"I have to admit, I never thought you would go for the whole 'cute and innocent' thing." She said, mildly surprised. "I truly thought you were some sort of Devil, but I guess I was wrong." She shrugged. "Either way, you must be dealt with."

"Not-a-chance-in-Hell-you-bitch PUUUUUUUUUNCH!" Yuuma was incredibly surprised to feel my fist slamming against the side of her face.

Hey, what kind of idiot would just stand there and watch while a girl was undoubtedly planning to kill you? There was no way I would be able to run so I might as well try to fight.

Yuuma was knocked back mostly due to her surprise that I fought back. Her expression then became rather angry.

"Suddenly I'm going to enjoy this much more." I saw a red light form in her right hand.

Before I could ask 'Enjoy what?', I felt a strange pain in my stomach.

I slowly looked down to see a bright-red spear of light sticking out the front of my torso. In retrospect, I probably should've prepared myself for a counter attack. I really hated hindsight at times like these.

I tried reaching for the spear only for it to suddenly vanish, leaving nothing but a huge hole in my stomach. Then blood spewed out of the open wound. More and more blood began to flow from the wound...blood...blood...

My head started feeling dizzy as my blood splattered against the ground. My eyesight started going blurry.

Shit.

I tried to remain on my feet, but the blood loss was starting to take away my sense of balance. I fell backwards onto the cold and unforgiving ground. Everything was starting to get darker. The most annoying part was that I couldn't tell if it was because the sun was setting or because I was probably dying.

Beside me, I could hear footsteps. No doubt Yuuma's or whatever her name really was.

"Sorry. You were a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early. If you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear inside you."

Us?, I wondered. So there were more of them. Even if I had somehow escaped or beaten Yuuma, there were other people like her waiting to kill me.

Perhaps the more annoying thing about this was that I would never get the chance to fight them. I would never get a chance to get stronger. I would never get a chance to keep that one promise I made to _her_...

I didn't bother to ask what this Sacred Gear thing was because, in a few minutes, it wouldn't even matter.

I didn't hear her walk away, but I could tell Yuuma left. Probably to go boast or whatever that she killed me so easily to her fellow black-winged friends.

Oddly, despite the fact that I'm dying, I couldn't really feel hate for her. I had a good run, lived a good life. I had plenty of girls ready to get naked for me. The only regret I have is dying a virgin.

This is all that I would LIKE to say. It's a total lie of course. There was no way I could be satisfied with a death like this...To think I would die so young...

Damn it...Damn it all to Hell!

I started to lose consciousness. The wound I had was fatal, yet oddly I didn't feel any pain. Maybe it was just so painful I had become numb.

Not even halfway through with my life and it was all over. I have to say, out of all the ways I thought I would go out, being speared by a super hot dark angel chick was not one of them.

I wondered what would happen tomorrow? Would anyone find my body? What about school?

Would anyone notice I was gone? Nobody except Kiryuu really knew me enough to care. To girls, I was just eye candy and some sort of lustful demon in their eyes. All of the guys hated me. Kiryuu would be the only person who would seriously cry, but I had a hard time picturing her in tears.

Mako-nee might also cry...If I hadn't been bleeding to death, that thought would've been hilarious. Come to think of it, I haven't really done anything to to please her as her brother...

I touched my stomach and brought it in front of me. My hand was completely covered in my blood.

I don't know why, but somehow I found that color beautiful. Even if it was the color of my own blood, it gave it a sort of twisted beauty. If I said that out loud, people would probably think I'm creepy...

I wonder if _she_ would look more beautiful with red hair...Jeez why was I thinking about this right now? I'm dying and THIS was how I spent my final moments?

Come to think of it, wasn't there some girl at school with red hair?

What was her name again? I think I've seen her walking around before but I never paid attention...I wonder if she was beautiful...I think I did talk to her one time...something about returning a book or something...I think this is possibly the most boring end to a life if there ever was one.

My vision got even more blurry if it was possible...

...damn it...what a useless life I've lived...if I were to be reborn...I would want it to be as someone stronger than me...someone who wouldn't die this easily damn it...

"So you were the one who called me." Came an unfamiliar voice. I had to strain my ears to make out what she had said. I couldn't make out her image because of my failing vision. "Looks like you are dying. Your wound...oh my, looks like something interesting is happening to you. So it's you…This truly is interesting." Then laughter.

Glad to see my death amuses you so.

"If you are dying, then I'll pick it up. Your life that is. From now, you will live for me." I was able to make out crimson hair before everything went dark.

And so the life of the Human known as Shirou Fujimura came to an end...

**Finished! After several weeks, it's finally done! It was MUCH MUCH longer than I would have preferred, but oh well. I suppose the prologue-type chapter SHOULD be something like that. The first episode of Fate/Zero was almost an hour and it led on to a BADASS series...until the ending that is. So yeah. This is my DxD fic. Shirou replaces Issei. Hope you had fun! **

**Thanks for the reads and reviews!**

**Bye-Bye~!**


	2. Chapter 2: New Life

**I'm glad that people are liking this story so far. With that ending, we continue onward towards the future! I thank you all for continuing to read this!**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

**Chapter 2:**

**New Life**

"AAAH!" I shot up from my bed, screaming. I quickly looked around before realizing I was somehow back in my room, my heart beating hard and fast enough that it might bust out of my chest.

[...I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP! YOU WILL BE CUT INTO PIECES IF YOU DON'T-]

I quickly hit the off button on my alarm clock, my heart rate finally slowing down. I then remembered what I had been panicking about.

"A dream...?" I could almost see those black feathers raining down around me again, my blood leaking through the hole in my chest. "...but...it felt so realistic..." I glared at the clock with the creepy anime chick with the chainsaw. I really wished Mako-nee would stop buying my stuff like that. It's no wonder I have crazy dreams with something like that.

...stupid yandere clock.

I would throw it away but then I wouldn't have an alarm clock at all and forget me waking up at all in the morning.

Speaking of morning...I looked out my window to see sunlight shining down everywhere.

What happened to me?

It was only after I felt a cold breeze 'down there' that I realized a more important question:

WHY THE HELL WAS I NAKED!?

Not naked as in I was wearing nothing but underwear. I mean NAKED naked. I wasn't even wearing underwear for some reason! There was no way I would come home tired enough to somehow accidentally take off all of my clothes and go to bed.

I then stared at the ceiling pensively. When I thought about it, I didn't remember coming home at all yesterday or taking off any of my clothes.

I scratched my head, confused. "Just what the Hell hap-"

"Unn...mmm..." I heard the sound of a sweet sounding voice next to me. I froze before turning slowly to my right to see what caused the noise.

That was when I saw the naked, crimson-haired beauty laying in the bed next to me.

She was naked...and beautiful...her skin was so white. Too bright for my eyes.

The thing that caught my eyes were her absolutely bare oppai. Perfectly naked for my wandering eyes. I could see the pink of her nipples and that was when I noticed the blood rolling down my chin from my nose.

Wait. I know this girl...she was like...erm...Gramery? Gromery...? Gremory! Rias Gremory was her name. That was her name! She's my senpai and...nope. That's about all I care to remember at the moment. I never really knew much about her really. Something about being the prettiest girl in school...

I quickly stuffed tissues up my nose to stop the bleeding.

Then another thought set in.

Oh shit. Did we...Did I...? Was this what I thought it was?!

I then watched as Gremory-senpai rolled over, allowing my eyes to glimpse her beautiful bottom.

If I had to use one word to describe it: STRIIIIIIIIKE~!

My mind was spinning at the thought that I had somehow experienced something that I thought even I would never have been able to achieve.

OK, calm down, Shirou. Keep cool. Keep calm. It's just some weird dream...

It would make sense if I didn't remember even doing anything. I had to calm down. Just calm down.

Oh yeah, at times like this it's good to count prime numbers to calm down.

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23…Wait. This is boring as Hell! Why am I doing this?!

I looked back to Gremory-senpai and my nosebleed was renewed once again.

Why the Hell am I sleeping with her?! Just what the Hell happened?! Did...Did I score with this hot chick? YES!

...wait a minute. I lost my virginity and I can't even remember anything? FUCK! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!

I proceeded to beat my head repeatedly in extreme frustration. Damn you, mind! Remember those sweet memories! Remember, damn you!

"Just what kind of sick joke is this, God?!" I hissed to myself. It was at that point that I felt the strangest of stinging pains in my head, causing me to wince. I wondered just what the Hell that was when I realized something else.

I was alone in my room. Naked. With a girl. Mako-nee would wake up any moment and come to check up on me.

My older sister would walk in and see me naked and alone with a girl...

THAT was when I began to truly panic.

"Shirou-kun! Wake up! It's time for school!"

Speak of the devil...

I paled as I could hear my sister's footsteps coming near the door. The very thought of what she would do made me want to jump out the window and run...public decency laws be damned.

"I know you're there! I saw your shoes by the door, so don't try to pretend you're not here!" I could hear Makoto click her tongue from here. "Geez! Staying at a friend's house so late! On top of that, being late for school! Not to mention you didn't ask permission first!"

Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!

Makoto's footsteps could still be heard coming up the stairs and down the hall, her footsteps carried even further by the sound of anger.

If she saw this, it would be really really REALLY bad.

"W-Wait! I'm up! I'm up! You don't need to come up! I'm getting ready already!" I shouted, still panicking. The one person whom I truly feared was coming upstairs already pissed off. If she saw this, she would bury me herself and then dance on my grave.

"Like Hell! You have a lot to answer for, you lazy ass!" She screamed, her pace increasing.

My eyes darted left and right as I tried to find some reason to keep her from entering.

"Er-I uh...I'm not decent right now! I'm literally butt-naked right now!" Not the entire truth, but it certainly wasn't a lie. That's for certain.

"Oh please!" I could almost sense Neesan rolling her eyes. "I bathed you when you were little. There's _no part_ of you I haven't seen. Nothing to be ashamed about."

OK...creepy, but still very afraid.

"Hmm...Is it morning already?" I jumped before turning around to see my naked senpai slowly sitting up on my bed. She wiped her eyes tiredly.

Of course she chose THIS MOMENT to wake up.

I quickly stood from my bed and picked my blanket off from the floor. My face was beet red by that point.

"T-This may be a bit short notice but please put this on, senpai!" I didn't care if I had to beg. I didn't feel like dying painfully today so swallowing my pride was a small price to play.

I quickly ran over to cover my senpai, but I felt my foot get caught on the end of the blanket. I tripped.

Perhaps the most eventful part of this would be where my face fell right into something beautiful and soft. Senpai didn't say anything and I felt my dread increase tenfold in the next second.

I then heard the door open. "OK, what's going-!" I quickly pulled my face out of senpai's marvelous oppai to turn to my sister with an incredibly red face.

Sometimes I wondered why the universe hated me so much.

Senpai smiled at Makoto as if me and her WEREN'T completely in the nude and in a very suggestive position when Makoto walked in. "Ah. Good morning."

I stared at her in disbelief. OK, it was excuse time! "N-Neesan! I know what it looks like but it's not like that! I-I uh..."

Makoto paused. Not froze, just paused, as if she was surprised about something. "Good morning." She then turned to me and I felt my heart stopped. "Hooking up with a foreign girl...so you AREN'T heading towards _that world..._" I felt my sweat dropped when I could see my Neesan's eyes water with tears. "I've never been more proud of you than I am right noooooow!" Neesan started breaking out into tears immediately. I felt even more disturbed when Neesan gave me a teary-eyed thumbs up.

"N-Neesan?!" Hold up. What? She's not dismembering me?...wait..did she really have so little faith in me?!

Makoto's tears quickly dried up as I noticed a strange expression on her face when she looked at senpai. The next second, my neesan's expression was a sneaky and slightly perverted one. "Kukukuku~! If you wanted some quiet time, you should've just said so, Shirou-kuuuun~! I'll just leave you and your lady for now~! Good luck~!" With that, Makoto Fujimura shot me one last thumbs up before vanishing behind the door, closing it with a slam. I was left just sitting there, my eye twitching as I tried to process what just happened...

To sum up my thoughts: What...the fuck?

I was brought out of my state of confusion when I found a soft, white hand glide under my chin and turn my head to face my beautiful senpai.

"Your sister is quite an interesting person, isn't she?" Yeah. _Interesting_. Let's go with that.

I quickly pulled away from her, blushing when I looked down again. I could feel more blood leak out of my nose before I plugged it again. "O-Oi! Y-You know I can see your o-oppai right now, right s-senpai?" I turned away, feeling it ungentlemanly to look without permission.

"If you want to see it, then go ahead."

I blinked. Then I turned back, my nose still bleeding slightly. Hey, I wanted permission and she gave me permission. No point in wasting this awesome opportunity! It was only a shame that it was at that point that she started putting on her clothes again, turning her back to me after she stood up. I did my best to control my erotic thoughts enough for me to turn away, giving her at least some privacy while she got dressed.

I wasn't quite sure why considering I had already seen her absolutely naked. Feeling self-conscious, I, too, started getting dressed. I did still have to go to school, whether I had actually lost my virginity or not (although now I suspected it was the latter).

Now that my oppai-induced trance was over, I suddenly thought about something. More like I was brought back to a previous thought. Just what exactly happened?

"So how's your stomach?" Gremory-senpai asked casually. I stared through half-lidded eyes, uncertain what she meant. I then looked down and saw a faded mark, almost nonexistent. My mind suddenly flashed back to a previous picture. A girl with crow-like wings...spearing me in the chest with a spear of light. I winced as I remembered the incredibly real-feeling pain of having a hole in my stomach.

"What?" I still wasn't uncertain...but could it be... "It had to be dream." I said almost to myself.

"You were stabbed yesterday. It wasn't a dream." She sounded as if she had expected any kind of response I gave her.

I wanted to say something like "Haha. Very funny." but I remember what happened the last time I had a thought like that. But the way she spoke. She had completely confirmed what I suspected. Yuuma, almost dying, none of it was a dream.

I shook my head. "But...I was wounded. I had a giant hole in my chest! There's no way I'd be alive after something like that!"

Senpai nodded, as if agreeing. "Normally you wouldn't be, but I was able to heal your wound. It was critical, but thanks to your tough body, it was a treatable injury by using my power in a night. I shared some of my demonic powers with you by embracing you while we were naked. I was able to do it because we are from the same clan."

I stared. "What?" I heard all of it, but only a few parts of it made it to my brain. The few parts that did, only a few pieces of THAT made even the slightest bit of sense.

Senpai buttoned up her shirt. "I've been embracing you in the nude to heal you." She simplified.

I stared again. "Ah. So that's it." I then let that sentence slowly sink into my brain. "EEEEEEHHHH!?"

W-Wait a minute! If she was naked...and-and if I was naked, t-then-!

"Don't worry. I'm still a virgin."

Ah. So that means so am I. I felt both relieved and a little disappointed. Wait. She said she healed a hole in my chest. Maybe I should be more worried about THAT instead of me retaining my virginity.

My thoughts must've been reflecting on my expression because senpai smiled.

"Don't make such a weird face. This world is surrounded by more mysterious things than you can imagine."

...That sounded both interesting yet ominous in various ways.

Even though I could still see her underwear, she approached me and patted my cheek with her slim fingers.

I felt my cheeks heating up as I tried to pull of an angry expression, but my embarrassment made it seem more like a childish pout. I do not like being treated like a pet.

"I am Rias Gremory. I am a Devil."

...what?

"And I am your Master. Nice to meet you, Fujimura Shirou-kun. Can I call you Shirou?"

In the face of all of this, I could only say one thing...

"What?"

* * *

"Itadakimasu." Both Senpai and I said grace before we began to eat breakfast. I was the one who cooked breakfast today so it was me, Senpai, and Makoto eating miso soup.

If Makoto was surprised by Senpai's arrival at our house, she hid it very well...but I couldn't help but notice a heavy silence eating up the atmosphere around her. She didn't say anything. She just continued eating along with my Senpai who didn't seem as bothered about it.

For me, this mood totally killed my appetite so I just stared blankly at the food in front of me.

Senpai must've noticed at some point because she turned to me and spoke elegantly. "Shirou, you shouldn't let your food go to waste if you spent time cooking it. Eat it."

I shot her a sideways glare that she didn't seem to notice. I don't like being ordered around.

But I did so anyway. I began practically shoving food into my mouth just to get it over with.

"Oi. Baka-otouto, you're going to choke if you keep eating like that." I stopped eating and stared at Neesan who I noticed was being a HUGE hypocrite! She was practically shoveling her food down her throat. A piece of food hung out of the corner of her mouth before she slurped it up.

"Nee-sama's right, Shirou." Senpai agreed. Why the Hell are YOU calling her Neesan? And do you not see the food hanging out of her mouth?!

Makoto looked up and stared at Senpai. "So where do you come from?"

I have no idea whatsoever.

Senpai smiled politely at Makoto. "…Oh my, I apologize for not introducing myself… I brought shame to the House of Gremory. Please allow me to introduce myself. Nee-sama, my name is Rias Gremory. I attend the same Academy as Fujimura Shirou-kun. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I then noticed something strange...the coldness in Neesan's expression. It didn't last long so it may have been my imagination because Neesan smiled again. "Likewise, Lady Gremory."

I blinked. Did she...did she just call her 'Lady Gremory'? What's up with that? Senpai seemed slightly surprised as well but she quickly hid it. She seemed a bit confused or perhaps uneasy about something.

"Are you from a foreign country? Your Japanese is surprisingly good."

Senpai nodded, still smiling politely. "Yes. Due to my father's work, I have been living in Japan for a long time."

Makoto nodded again. I still felt something was 'off'. "I see." I then felt the heavy atmosphere vanish entirely as a perverted and amused smirk appeared on Neesan's face. "So what exactly is your relationship with my perverted little brother?"

That...was a good question. I leaned on one arm as I watched my Senpai expectantly, waiting to see if she would answer the question I had been pondering for the past half-hour or so.

"We are just a senior and a junior who are quite close to each other, Nee-sama."

I stared through half-lidded eyes at my senpai.

She already saw us naked in bed. Come up with something more believable please.

"Oh really?" My Neesan raised an eyebrow. "So it's normal for two classmates to sleep naked together?"

I could feel the atmosphere grow heavy again. But this time I could feel it's because she's having fun at someone's expense. Whether it's mine or Senpai's, I have no idea.

My crimson-haired senpai seemed bothered by something, but she was quite effective in covering it up. She kept the same smile throughout the conversation, but it wavered once or twice throughout the exchange. She continued talking as if she hadn't been bothered.

"Shirou said he has nightmares, so I was just sleeping with him." I had to bite my tongue for that one. I DO NOT have nightmares! "And nowadays, people DO sleep naked when they sleep together."

I saw my Neesan's eyes narrow a second before an empty look developed in them. "Is that so?" She asked in a possessed tone...although it sounded a little fake for some reason. "I see. People just sleep naked lately."

Senpai seemed slightly relieved before she leaned into my ear and whispered to me. "I'm sorry. It looked like it would become troublesome, so I used my power."

Power?...is this something to do with that Devil-thing that she was talking about earlier? I could still remember her words.

_"I am a Devil."_

I stared at Senpai who went back to eating her food. So did Makoto, the atmosphere lifting for the second and final time.

Just who was Rias Gremory?

* * *

[Kuoh Academy]

You know, I thought my day couldn't have gotten any more annoying than this morning...

Guess who was dead wrong.

I should've known better really.

Even though I got a good look at Rias-senpai naked, my day was still somewhat annoying. The first thing that was bothering me was that everyone was just staring at me all the way to school. The second was the fact that there was more whispering and/or screaming than usual, accompanying the mixture of angry, confused, or disappointed stares.

"Why is he with Rias-oneesama?"

"Do you think they...?"

"Did the [Demon King of Kuoh] dare to violate Rias-oneesama?!"

"I'm gonna kill him..."

Pffft! Yeah right. Bring it if you think you're so tough. Seriously! What's with everyone jumping to such extreme conclusions.

And then there were the girls...

"No! Shirou-sama has been taken by Onee-sama!"

"*Sobs* It's not fair!"

"If only I had known this was going to happen! I would've just laid flat on my back and let him ravage my body!"

"...you know you said that out loud right?"

"D-Did I?!...If I told Shirou-sama, do you think he would give into his demonic instincts?"

I sighed. I had to admit that I blushed a little as that one comment was a bit more extreme. People were so annoying sometimes. The third most annoying thing was also humiliating as well. I may have been walking next to the school idol, but...I was being forced to carry her bag like some kind of servant! I'm not some kind of dog to be trained!

The mix of insults and screams of jealousy rolled off me like water off a duck's back. Some students fainted from shock (these were the ones who were either male or saw me as a demon). Some girls actually started crying when they saw me walking next to Rias-senpai.

We finally split up once we reached the school's entrance. I turned my back to the red-head when she spoke to me again.

"I will send someone to get you." She said with a smile. "Let's meet again later."

I gave a lazy wave as I started walking away, not caring. "Whatever. See ya later." The sooner I got away from this chick the less of a pain my life was. I had devoted myself to the thought that I hit my head or something and that she was crazy. It was the only way I could cope with whatever was going on.

Devils? Hot chicks with black wings? Just what did I get myself into?

Nobody dared to cross my path except...

""FUJIMURA!""

...those two.

I groaned as two members of the Perverted Duo ran up to me, a mix of curiosity and jealousy in there eyes.

The baldy, Matsuda, was clenching his fists. If I had been anybody else, he might've tried to punch me. Of course he doesn't because he knows I'd murder him. "Since when did you start playing the field!? WHAT THE HELL, MAN!?"

I glared at him, growling. "FIRST OFF, I DON'T RECALL EVER BEING YOUR BUDDY SO MY LIFE IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS! SECOND, NOTHING HAPPENED!"

Motohama, the second 'Pervy Glasses Character' I know, adjusted his glasses before silencing Matsuda with a hand on the shoulder. For a moment I thought he was going to be the wisest of the two and suggest they leave. I was proven wrong when a grin appeared on his face. "You're among friends here! Come on, you can tell us. What was it like?"

I could feel my eye twitch a little from annoyance. I was seriously going to hit these two. "Read my lips: Nothing. Happened."

"LIES!" Matsuda continued on the warpath. "How the Hell did a guy like you get someone like Rias Gremory!?"

"Was it good!?" Motohama then got on board and started to pester

"Does she like it rough?!"

"Was she really a virgin!?"

"What was it like?!"

"Were you able to see her oppai?!"

Rather than pointlessly trying to rebut any claims of me taking my senpai's virginity, I instead chose the simpler path of giving both of them a brief yet painful blow to the back of the head. I growled once more.

"To answer your questions in order: Fuck you. Shut up. Don't give a damn. Probably. Piss off. And none of your damn business!"

The two then leaned in, suspicious. "Oh? What's with that response on that last question?"

"A little bit too much more hostility than the other answers."

"Did something-" They didn't get the chance to finish that question because the next second I had delivered a blow to the back of both of their heads. I stared blankly.

"I didn't have anything witty to say so I just went with that." I admitted. Hey, it's easy to do stuff like that to people who aren't your friends and tend to piss you off.

"To think I'd find you talking to these two," interrupted a new voice filled with mock surprise. I turned to see the only glasses character that I actually called my friend.

I could see Kiryuu analyzing me. I couldn't tell in which respect.

Then the seriousness of the moment was killed by Kiryuu's own perverted grin. "So how did our senpai react when you used your 'gift' to satisfy her?" I opened my mouth to say something before Kiryuu laughed to herself. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." I released a sigh. "If you really had done 'that', you would be so much more cheerful. Anyway, the reason I came to find you so you don't end up late again."

"Yeah yeah yeah." Something I noticed is that the only people are regularly associate myself with are a bunch of perverts. "Can we please just go before I'm tempted to beat someone into a coma?" I started walking to class without waiting for an answer. Kiryuu followed after me, leaving the other two morons to do God knows what for reasons that I don't care about.

At some point, Kiryuu caught up to me and walked by my side. "So what DID happen exactly, Shirou?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing and if someone asks one more time, I swear I'll-"

Kiryuu gave a thumbs up. "Gotcha." I released a sigh of relief. At least SOMEONE was letting it go. That was the one thing about Kiryuu that I liked. She knew when to drop a subject.

And so school began.

* * *

And in a flash, it was over too.

Maybe it was because I spent the whole day thinking about Gremory-senpai. I was still in absolute denial by that point about everything that happened, but even then I was still uncertain. As the classroom began to clear, I leaned back in my seat, placing my legs on my desk.

All throughout the day I was cornered by teary-eyed girls who wanted to confirm whether or not I was dating Rias Gremory. No matter how much I said otherwise, I kept hearing small whispers of 'Liar' and 'Not fair...' from most of them. The guys, as ball-less as they were, actually got angry enough to make threats against me to kick my ass...from several feet away and speaking in whispers when I was around. Bunch of cowards really. Can't even threaten me to my face.

"Hi. How are you doing?"

I raised an eyebrow as I turned to the person who addressed me. He was just about my age with blonde hair and the look of an annoying pretty boy...or more well known as Kuoh Academy's #1 best looking prince, Yuuto Kiba. Though we're in different classes, I couldn't help but hear about him when there's usually some random chick fawning over him every ten seconds. Seriously, I could hear some of them screaming in excitement at his presence right now. Several of them were in the classroom.

He had his usually 'pretty boy' smile on his face with his eyes looking at me, half-lidded.

"What do you want?" I asked, not wasting any time. People who you've never met before usually only talk to you because they have some sort of goal in mind.

"I cam here by order of Rias Gremory-senpai."

Ah. I had almost forgotten about that. Almost. It kept nagging me from the back of my mind. Realizing I might finally get some damn answers, I nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

Kiba gestured. "I want you to follow me."

I stood up from my chair and followed Kiba out the door of the classroom. I only paused when I heard excited whispers in the corner of the room between several of my female classmates.

"OMG! For Fujimura-sama and Kiba-sama are walking beside each other!"

"I can't believe it! No wonder 'the Beast' didn't fall for our feminine wiles!"

"No way Shirou is batting for the other team! Maybe he sometimes substitute for their players but I know that he prefers women!"

"I totally ship the Fujimura-samaxKiba-kun pairing!"

"Me too!"

Please...just shut up. For the love of God (I winced involuntarily at a strange pain I felt), shut up.

I could feel my pride as a man hurt a little as they doubted my sexuality. This was one of the few innuendos I understood. I LIKE GIRLS DAMMIT!

I sighed, looking ahead of me at my blonde guide. "Do you get this everyday, too?"

"Yes I do, but you get used to it." He said, not very bothered. Personally, I found it to be a pain in the ass. I just know Kiryuu's going to milk this for all it's worth the next time I see her. I know all the other girls are by this point.

As we walked around, I couldn't help but finally notice a strange exhaustion as the sun beamed down on me. Like I had just gotten done beating up a gang alliance made up of five different gangs...now THAT was a crazy Saturday...

I was only snapped out of my reminiscing when I noticed the old school building we were walking towards behind the school. While I admit it was well-maintained, something about it would creep me out for some reason. Not much, but I was certain something was up at that building. I had just never been curious enough to check it out before now.

Kiba finally broke the silence that had somehow fallen upon us. "Buchou is here."

I blinked. Buchou? Is he talking about Gremory-senpai?

As we made our inside the building and up some stairs two the second floor, I couldn't help that feeling inside of me that was literally screaming that I was about to enter something I never would've believed if I had not been stabbed and supposedly brought back to life.

We kept on walking before stopping before a specific room with a sign over the door:

[Occult Research Club]

Figures. With all the stuff that crimson-haired girl was talking about, of course this would be the club she's in charge of.

"Buchou, I have brought him." Kiba said to whomever was on the other side of the door.

There were a few seconds of waiting before the voice of Rias Gremory replied. "Yes. Come in."

I followed the blonde-haired prince into the room and I had to admit I was a little surprised but some part of me expected what I saw.

The entire room was covered in various weird signs and symbols that made absolutely zero sense to me. They looked like some sort of magic circles. There was an especially large one right in the middle of the room. It appeared the be the main source of the creepy feeling this building gave me. There were a couple of sofas and desks scattered around the room.

On one of said sofas sat a silver-haired girl eating youkan. She was petite and she wore the girl's school uniform.

I think I've heard of her somewhere...oh yeah. One of the times when Kiryuu WASN'T sexually harassing me or something along those lines, she mentioned this girl. Koneko Toujou. A 1st year and apparently my kouhai. She's one of the most popular among a certain group of guys. She was also well liked by the girls and treated as the school mascot.

She had a sleepy expression as she continued eating her youkan. She turned to Kiba and I as we entered the room, acknowledging our arrival.

Kiba walked forward and gestured slightly to me. "This is Shirou Fujimura."

Koneko nodded to me. "Nice to meet you."

I nodded back, acknowledging her greeting. "Likewise." The petite girl then return to her youkan. Well that was possibly the most normal exchange I've had all day. Even though she doesn't talk much like Kiryuu had told me, it was something at least.

SHA-

That is when I heard the sound of flowing water. I blinked. A shower? A little out of place in a place like this.

I looked towards the back of the room where a shower curtain had been drawn closed. I could make out a shadow behind it.

The shadow of a girl. So a girl was taking a shower in the middle of a clubroom filled with other people...

What clubroom has a shower?!

Then I heard the sound of the water being turned off, as the person using it probably became aware of my presence.

"Buchou, take this." I heard another voice that did not belong to the shadow.

"Thank you, Akeno." If I had made a bet, I would've won by a landslide due to the obviousness that the shadow had been Gremory-senpai.

I involuntarily began to remember earlier that morning. I could still remember all of the curves of Senpai's body and the softness of her ski-WAIT! Focus, Shirou! Remember why you're he-

I could then feel my face heating up as the memory of my Senpai's beautiful body triumphed over all of my mental defenses to keep me on task.

"...What a lecherous face." I saw Koneko mutter out of the corner of my vision.

Yeah. I kinda deserved that one. I apologize. I will admit to that one.

I looked at the curtain as it opened to reveal Senpai in her school uniform. Her wet hair made her look admittedly more seductive.

She smiled when she turned to me. I raised my hand once in a sort-of lazy wave for a greeting. I felt SOMETHING was appropriate considering that I'm the one coming to her for answers. "I'm sorry. I couldn't take a shower last night because I stayed the night at your place, so I took a shower now."

I should at least appreciate that she didn't say that somewhere in public where people are around. But that still sounded horribly misleading.

Then I looked behind Senpai and was surprised to see another person standing behind her. She was apparently the resident Yamato Nadeshiko and was admittedly beautiful just like Gremory-senpai.

The second of the two great onee-samas, Akeno Himejima. She was one of the people idolized by both girls and boys alike along with Rias Gremory. Her pretty face was said to always be smiling. While I don't think it's possible to ALWAYS be smiling (I doubt you can smile all the time while you're asleep), I have no evidence to prove it.

"Ara ara. Hello, my name is Himejima Akeno. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She introduced herself in a polite manner. I don't know how, but if I had to match a voice to her beautiful face, that would be exactly what it'd sound like. That is just exactly how I expected her to sound.

Despite my attempts at self-control, I found myself blushing again. Not one, but TWO older sister-type girls (not to mention the most beautiful girls in school) standing right in front of me makes whatever annoyance that plagued me today utterly worth it. I had almost completely forgotten the original reason why I was there.

I bowed politely. "S-Shirou Fujimura. Nice to meet you, Himejima-senpai."

Once all of the introductions had been completed, Rias-senpai had apparently decided it was time to get down to business. "Looks like everyone is here. Shirou Fujimura-kun. No, let me call you Shirou."

I shrugged, letting her know I didn't care either way. "Sure."

"We, the Occult Research Club, welcome you."

I blinked in confusion. "Eh?" WHEN exactly did I agree to that?

"As a Devil." Ria-senpai finished.

I stared through half-lidded eyes as my mind took its sweet time processing what she said. There she goes again with that word. Devil.

I don't quite remember how, but at some point I ended up sitting on one of the sofas as Himejima-senpai handed me a cup of tea. I took a sip and was surprised by how good it tasted. I told senpai as such for which she thanked me. I was a little surprised when she started laughing by saying "Ufufu". I didn't know people actually did that.

I took a few more sips of tea before I pulled the cup away from my lips and then smacked my lips a few times. I waited a few seconds, closing my eyes and closing and opening my mouth several times.

I opened my eyes. "Bull." I said rather bluntly. "I do not believe you. Is this some sort of prank? Am I getting punk'd or whatever the Hell it's called?"

Rias-senpai shook her head. "I assure you. This is the truth. You are not being deceived, Shirou."

I felt a pang of annoyance. "I doubt it. There's no way that anything you're telling me can be true. There's no evidence whatsoever supporting your claim." For a moment, I had completely deceived myself that she was lying. It was the only way that anything made sense.

Of course my argument didn't last long as I saw Rias-senpai lay something down on the table in front of me.

A photo. My eyes widened as I recognized the familiar, black-haired girl in picture. The one whom I had gone out with...the one who had speared me straight through the chest with a spear of light.

"Yuuma Amano." Were the first two words Rias-senpai said after a good four minutes of silence. "That day, you were on a date with Yuuma Amano, right?"

I felt something strange in my chest. It was like fire. It was hot and filled with rage...but it also hurt me so.

"...shut up..." The words left my mouth as something less than a whisper. Despite the anger in them, nobody heard my words.

"She tricked you. She killed you."

"Shut up..." I said only a little more loudly.

"She used you and betrayed you when your guard was down."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I don't know why, but the thought of Yuuma made me so angry...and also a little sad.

I blinked as I snapped back to my senses. I was standing. Everyone was staring at me, the expressions on everyone's faces mixed in total. Koneko had stopped eating and was watching me with a mildly surprised look. Kiba seemed to be calm, but I could tell he thought I was going to attack Rias-senpai and seemed ready to act should that event come to pass. Himejima-senpai still had her smile on her face, apparently unfazed, but I could tell she was only mildly surprised at most.

Rias-senpai was the only one with a truly calm expression. "I'm sorry, but I assumed you wouldn't truly listen unless she was brought up. I apologize for reminding you of that memory. Are you listening now?"

I breathed deeply in and out, my anger dying down with each moment as my eyes darted between each of the surrounding individuals. After a few seconds, I had my temper completely under control. A slightly ashamed look appeared on my face. "Yes. Please forgive me for my outburst." I quietly took my seat again.

Everyone else quickly relaxed as the angry aura around me faded completely.

Rias-senpai seemed to have quickly forgiven me because she acted as if I hadn't just lost my temper.

"As I'm sure you've guessed, 'Yuuma Amano isn't exactly a human. You saw her wings, correct?" I nodded. "That's a Fallen Angel. They are former Angels who served God, but they are beings who have fallen to Hell because they had evil intentions. They are also the enemy of us Devils."

I felt like we were entering the realm of fantasy right there, but I wouldn't say as such because I used up my one 'whoops' when I started shouting.

"We, the Devils, have been at war with the Fallen Angels since ancient times. We have been fighting over the possession of the Underworld, which is also known as Hell in the human world. The Underworld is split into two areas, one for Devils and one for Fallen Angels. The Devils form pacts with humans and receive their sacrifices and increase their strength. The Fallen Angels on the other hand control humans to eliminate Devils. At this point the Angels come in to destroy these two races on God's orders, which creates the three forces. This has been going on since ancient times."

I nodded, still trying to process this. "So Yuuma was one of these 'Fallen Angels' is what you're saying? Are these the kind of things the Occult Research Club does?"

"Occult Research Club is just a camouflage for us. It's my hobby. It's actually a gathering place for us Devils." Rias-senpai then returned the first question I asked. "This Fallen Angel came in contact with you to accomplish a certain goal. After she accomplished it, she got rid of any record and evidence regarding herself."

I placed a hand on my chin. "And this goal was supposedly killing ME, am I right?" Rias-senpai nodded. Being right didn't really make me feel any better. Perhaps even worse because Yuuma only got close to me to kill me. "But why though? Why did Yuuma have to kill me? Was it some sort of grudge?"

Rias-senpai shook her head. "No, you were just unlucky. There are possessors who weren't killed..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Possessors? Does this have to do with that thing Yuuma was talking about...Sacred Gear, was it? Is that why she killed-?" Then I truly realized something. I had _died_ yesterday. I shouldn't even be here asking these questions. Even with Rias-senpai's naked healing powers, I'm pretty sure Yuuma struck some vital organs. I would've bled to death at least before I had a chance to be healed.

I opened and closed my hand in front of me, trying to process yet ANOTHER unbelievable thing.

"That day, you went on a date with her and then went to the park, where you were killed with a _Spear of Light_." Rias-senpai then continued after a brief pause. "And you were right about that guess. The reason why she approached you is so she could check if there is a dangerous thing inside you. She must have received a weak response from it. That's why she took her time checking you. Then she confirmed it. That you were a human who possessed a Sacred Gear."

So that's why. I could still remember Yuuma's last words to me before I succumbed to blood loss:

_"Sorry. You were a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early. If you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear inside you."_

"But what IS a Sacred Gear anyway?" I asked. Kiba was the one who answered.

"Sacred Gear is an irregular power that is bestowed to certain humans. For example, most of the people whose names are recorded in history are said to be possessors of a Sacred Gear. They used the power of their Sacred Gear to record their name in history."

Himejima-senpai nodded before continuing where he left off. "Presently, there are people who possess Sacred Gears within their bodies. You know those people who play an important role worldwide? Most of those people possess a Sacred Gear."

So hypothetically I could use Sacred Gear to rule the world? BWAHAHAHAHAHA-No not really. I have no interest in something like that. I then chose to listen to Rias-senpai as she finished the entire explanation.

"Most of the Sacred Gears have functions that are only usable in the human society. But there are exceptional Sacred Gears that are a threat to us, the Devils, and Fallen Angels. Shirou, raise your hand."

I gave her a confused look, but I did as instructed. I raised my left arm.

"Now, close your eyes and imagine the strongest thing that comes to mind."

"Strongest, huh?...Emiya Shirou from Fate/Stay Night...Heavens Feel route?" Some people would say Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z, but he ain't got shit on Shirou Emiya! People who have the name Shirou are total badasses.

"Then imagine it, and imagine that person in a particular pose where he looks the strongest."

I thought about every last scene and I decided on the first moment Shirou used the arm of his Counter Guardian counterpart. "..." I remained silent as I focused on the same pose he had when tracing Nine Lives.

"Lower your arm slowly and stand up." I was really starting to wonder where Rias-senpai was going with this. I don't usually like being ordered around, but I was really curious. I lowered my arm and stood up from the sofa. "Now mimic the pose of that person. You have to imagine it strongly, okay? You cannot hold back."

I nodded as I focused with all my might to remember that pose perfectly. I raised my arm up into the air and I opened my hand to grasp the handle of an imaginary weapon that had yet to exist, just as Shirou did when having to fight against Berserker. I just hope I don't break any bones like Emiya did the first time he did this. Unlike him, I don't have reinforcement powers.

Suddenly I was less sure about this.

"Hurry and do it." Don't rush me, woman! I perfected the pose, trying to forget all of my worries. I hope I look as much like a badass as Emiya when he did this. If not, I will never do this again.

"Trace...ON!"

"Now, open your eyes. In this place which is filled with demonic power, the Sacred Gear will be able to appear more easily."

There was a bright flash of light and my left arm glowed. I could literally feel the power building up in my left arm. After a few seconds, the light vanished, leaving a strange thing on my arm. I expected some sort of gauntlet, but this 'Sacred Gear' was much more different than from what I expected.

It took the form of some sort of long red cloth wrapped around my arm. It deeply resembled the Shroud of Martin that Shirou had to wear around Archer's arm in order to keep it from killing him. Only difference was that it had two, long strands of cloth fluttering in the air behind me. The only part of my arm not covered was my fingers. Embedded in the cloth on the back of my hand was a strange, green gem.

I lowered my arm and stared at it in wonder. "Well...that happened." I clenched and unclenched my fist as I examined this strange thing around my arm. I looked at Rias-senpai, who seemed slightly surprised about something. "Is this a Sacred Gear?"

"...Archer's arm..." I think I heard her mutter under her breath. For a moment, I could've sworn I saw a weird expression on her face. One of those sparkly expressions that you'd see on an otaku who's eying something awesome and related to an anime or manga or something. It only lasted for a second so I couldn't be sure because she immediately became confused. "Yes, but I've never seen one quite like it...It could be a variation of Twice Critical, but I'm not really sure." It sounded like she may have been talking more to herself than me. "Anyway, once it appears, you can use it anywhere and anytime as you will."

That would've been useful if I knew what the Hell it does.

"Regardless of what it does, it was dangerous enough for the Fallen Angel, Yuuma Amano, to see you as a threat and therefore killed you."

Well, I guess I can't choose denial anymore. The proof of all of this is literally right on my arm.

"You called me when you were on the verge of death. I was summoned through this paper." Rias-senpai then pulled out a leaflet from her pocket. It was just like the one I had gotten from that weird, sexy bat girl I met while I had been waiting for Yuuma. Just like the one I had, the leaflet Rias-senpai had read: "We will grant your wish!"

I also noticed that the magic circle on the leaflet matched the one on the floor.

"This is one of the leaflets we give out. This magic circle is used to summon us Devils." Rias-senpai explained. "These days there aren't many people who would draw this circle to summon us. So we give these leaflets to people who look like they would summon Devils. This magic-circle is safe and easy to use. That day, one of our familiars was disguised as a human and was handing them out in the business district." Ah. So that woman was a familiar...that leaves quite a few questions...which I shall save for later. "You got it at that time, Shirou. After you were attacked by the Fallen Angel, you called me while you were on the verge of death. You wished so hard that it summoned me. Usually my servants like Akeno and the others would be the ones to be summoned."

That time I was impaled by the _Spear of Light_…so I wished really hard.

When my hand was covered in blood, the thing that came to mind was crimson red. A beautiful color.

I strongly craved for the girl with crimson hair, Rias Gremory.

So then, the person with red hair that appeared at the end of that dream—no, the one that appeared at the end of that incident really was Senpai.

"When I was summoned and saw you, I knew right away that you were a Sacred Gear possessor and that you were attacked by a Fallen Angel. But there was a problem. Shirou, you were on the brink of death. Not just Devils, but humans also die if impaled by a Fallen Angels spear of light. Shirou, you were in that kind of condition. So I decided to save your life."

Wait. So Senpai was the one who saved me? That's why I'm still alive...

"Although, as a Devil. Shirou, you were reborn as a Devil of mine, Rias Gremory's servant. As my servant Devil."

And just like that I was off this train. I was about to voice my disagreement when black wings sprouted out of everyone's backs. These were unlike Yuuma's wings which were black and feathery. They were more like bat wings than anything. I looked behind me when I felt a strange sensation on my own back. I was shocked to see I, too, had grown a pair of bat wings.

"Let's introduce everyone anew. Yuuto." Rias-senpai gestured.

Kiba smiled kindly. "My name is Kiba Yuuto. As you already know, I'm a second year like you, Fujimura Shirou-kun. Umm, I'm a Devil too. Nice to meet you."

Koneko bowed her head slightly. "…First year. …Toujou Koneko. Pleased to make your acquaintance. …I'm a Devil too."

Himejima-senpai bowed her head as well. "My name is Himejima Akeno, and I'm in third year. I'm also the vice-president of this Occult Research Club. Nice to meet you. Even though I'm like this, I'm also a Devil. Ufufu."

And last but not least was Rias-senpai. "And I'm their master as well as being a Devil from the House of Gremory, Rias Gremory. My house holds the rank of a Duke. Let's get along from now on, Shirou."

I had a little complaint to raise. "Pass."

Rias-senpai blinked, no doubt being surprised my response. "Wha-"

"There's no way I'm going to become your servant is what I'm saying." I gave a thumbs down. "I can't lower myself to being a servant because that would mean there's always someone above me. That will just get in the way of my dream." I pointed my left index finger towards the sky. "That's because my dream is one that transcends all others! My dream-no-My destined GOAL is to become the strongest person in existence! Strong enough to surpass God Himself!" I managed to keep a straight face as I felt a small surge of pain. Apparently saying His name is the cause. Makes sense considering I'm a Devil now.

I basked in the stunned silence for the one minute it lasted. I grew confused when I saw Rias-senpai get a confident smile on her face. This confusion was understandable as she should've been more disappointed than anything that I wouldn't be her servant. "Anywho. I shall be leaving now. Thanks for bringing back to life and all. Buh-bye." I turned to leave when I heard my senpai's voice behind me.

"But you know, there ARE ranks among Devils. It's something called peerage. I also have one. The place of your birth and your family background plays a big role in it, but there are also Devils who have risen up."

I halted my walk halfway to the door. I turned my head slightly to look back at Rias-senpai. "Go on."

Rias-senpai seemed much more confident as she spoke. "A majority of the pure Devils were killed in the war that took place long time ago. Because of that, Devils started to desperately gather servants. Well, Devils don't have the strength or the influence they originally had when they leaded their armies. Even so, we need to keep on increasing the number of the Devils. Just like humans, the Devils split in genders of male and female and are able to give birth. But even with normal birth, it will take a lot of time to get back to the same population as before. After all, Devils have a very low birth rate. Then we won't be able to stand up against the Fallen Angels. So we find humans who seem to have potentials and make them into Devils...As our servants, that is."

I growled in annoyance. "So I am just a servant." I was considering leaving again by that point.

"Oh, don't make a face like that. Now, I will get to the point. Since this only increases the number of servants, it doesn't increase the number of powerful Devils. So the Devils decided to give chances for power to reincarnated Devils— those who were reincarnated from a human. They decided to give peerage to reincarnated Devils as well, as long as they are powerful. Because of that, there are many Devils in humans' society. There are also numbers of Devils like myself who came to humans' society as well. Shirou, even though you haven't realised it, I'm sure you have passed by some Devils in this town."

Yeah. I kinda figured that out by now.

"Though there are humans who can distinguish which ones are Devils and those who can't. A person with a strong greed or a person who wants to get help from Devils usually can distinguish us strongly. We are usually summoned by the ones who can distinguish between them, through the leaflet with magic-circle that we give out. There are people like you, Shirou, who can distinguish Devils but don't believe in our existence, but a majority of them usually believe it if they see our demonic-powers."

I can understand that. I was literally speared through the chest and healed by the power of 'Naked Magic' and I STILL didn't initially believe you. I guess the reason I summoned her was because of my greed I suppose...or would it be envy? Whichever. I wanted to be the strongest no matter what.

"So you're saying I can also rank up and get stronger as a Devil, right? I would be able to fight stronger guys as I rank up?" Perhaps one of the people I fight would be Yuuma or whatever her real name was. I would take real pleasure in kicking her smug ass.

Rias-senpai nodded. "Correct. It's not impossible. Of course, it would take a lot of time and effort to achieve though."

Then another question...from the erotic side of my mind. "And this peerage...if I were to rank up and get my own...I could supposedly make my own harem? I'd be able to do ecchi things with them?"

Rias-senpai nodded again. "Yes. I think it's fine if it's with your servants."

In my mind: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS~!

I kept my cool on the outside...there may have been a bit of a perverted grin, but nobody seemed to mind. Well, except maybe Koneko-chan who was giving me a look that clearly said "...You disgusting pervert.".

I continued thinking about my situation. "So strength AND beautiful women, eh? Count me in!"

"You are alright with being my servant, right?" I nodded in response to the crimson-haired girl's question.

"Yes, Rias-senpai!" I was burning with determination. I would not only be able to get much stronger and fight stronger people, but I'd also be able to create my own harem if I worked hard enough! Life is sweet!

"Wrong." Rias-senpai said in a commanding way. "You will have to call me 'Buchou'."

I raised an eyebrow. I thought about it. "How about _Onee-sama_?" I was half-joking, but the more ecchi part of my mind wants to call some older sister-type 'Onee-sama'. However, I fear this minor goal may never be achieved.

Rias-senpai thought about it seriously for a while, and then shook her head. "Hmm. That also sounds wonderful, but since I operate mainly in the school, being called _Buchou_ has a better ring to it."

"What about _'Gremory-hime'_?" I was surprised to see Rias-senpai frown a little, as if something about it bugged her. "OK OK. Buchou it is."

Rias-se-I mean _Buchou_ seemed satisfied. "This is Occult Research Club after all, and everyone here also calls me that."

I grinned. "Alright then. I, Shirou Fujimura, hereby declare myself as your servant, Buchou. As long as I'm given the opportunity to get stronger, I will have no objections." But if your orders ever get in the way of my goal, I won't hesitate to disobey them...is what I thought to myself. It wouldn't matter either way. It's a mutually beneficial contract. I serve her and in exchange she allows me to get stronger. I am basically a tool, but that makes no difference.

I will keep the promise I made to the first girl who ever claimed my heart.

So from now on, I am Shirou Fujimura. Second year at Kuoh Academy. A member of the Occult Research Club...

...and a Devil.

**WOOHOO! I have once again gone over the 9000 word mark! My fire's still burning! I would like to once again thank ****Triplesquidge** for helping me and checking each chapter and correcting me on a bunch of important stuff.

**This message is for you, buddy! You are da bomb and clearly the more skilled of us two! Without you, Devil Reborn would not exist! You da best, buddy!**

**To everyone else:**

**Thanks for the reads and reviews!**

**Bye-Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3: Contracts

**And wow! I made it to chapter three! Time to celebrate~! So if you enjoyed the last chapter, let's hope this one is even more enjoyable!...I really don't have anything else to add here.**

**Anyone ever read the manga Rabbit Doubt? Some effed up shite right there. To my fellow psychological genre manga fans, go and read it. To everyone else...eh. It's not the MOST psychologically crazy thing you'd ever read, but it's still a lil bit crazy...I just wish the environment was larger like in Judge which I am ASSUMING has a connection to Rabbit Doubt but may not be explained for quite some time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or anything related to it. All I own is Shirou Fujimura, the badass guy with a legendary Sacred Gear!**

**Chapter 3:**

**Contracts**

I let out a loud howl of excitement.

It was midnight and I was pedaling on my bicycle at full throttle.

It's been a few days since I was turned into a Devil by Buchou. Seeing as I could no longer live as a human, I gladly accepted this change especially after Buchou's promise that I would be able to fight strong people, get stronger, AND eventually build a harem! That last objective was more like a secondary objective, but it would be nice to fulfill nonetheless.

The reason I was peddling on my bike was because I was 'working'. It's what I've been doing every night since I joined the Occult Research Club. We always met at the old school building that served as our clubhouse every night. This is because night time is when Devils are at their best.

The reason the sun bothered me so much was also because I'm a Devil if it wasn't obvious enough. The stronger the concentration of light, the more dangerous it is for us Devils. The sun isn't powerful enough to kill us, but it is annoying. Light is apparently poisonous to Devils.

Makes sense that Angels and Fallen Angels, the enemies of Devils, would use weapons made out of light. Buchou told me to run away if I ever encounter them...

Like that's gonna happen.

I'm not gonna pass up the chance to get even with those bastards just because the red-head doesn't want to lose a chess piece. That and how am I supposed to get stronger if I don't try fighting more people? Regular push-ups and sit-ups can only do so much and the training is meaningless if I don't apply it to SOMETHING.

After a while, the sun stopped bothering me. I just got used to it over my first several days as a Devil.

Anywho, I've been working hard at being Rias Gremory's servant Devil so that someday **I** could have my own servant Devils. Since becoming a Devil, Buchou told me to study about the Devil's society and how it works...yeah...Not so big a fan of studying but I got the gist of everything so I'm not too bad off. I was ordered to start handing leaflets like Buchou had her familiar doing when I was on my date with Yuuma.

Every night when I go out, I keep being surprised when Mako-nee doesn't get mad about me getting home after she got home from work. According to Buchou, she did something to mess with my nee-san's head so she wouldn't take much notice...but I think she messed it up. The reason I think this is because whenever I come back, Makoto clicks her tongue and seems very annoyed about something. Other than that, I have to admit her powers are kinda cool.

I was rather surprised to see that the crimson-haired princess had quite a bit of authority at the academy. Apparently the academy and some portions of the town are _her_ territory. She controls the academy from behind the scenes. Personally, I prefer to be up front and blunt, but that's just me.

It seems like the person in the highest position in our academy have ties with the Devils and therefore can't oppose the people from the House of Gremory. The academy is just another one of Buchou's 'things'. I kept wondering just how high up Buchou's House was. I still didn't quite grasp the ranking system, but I'm sure they are VERY high up.

Thanks to this, there's nothing to blow up in my face for appearing at school after dark.

Oh yeah. Getting off-topic.

So ever since I became a Devil, I go on my bicycle everyday and posting leaflets inside mailboxes.

Although I would've preferred to use my badass wings to fly around and deliver these, Buchou said I shouldn't draw so much attention to myself. By using this device Buchou gave me to find greedy people (or whatever she said), I find where they live and deliver the leaflets. They use the magic circle on the leaflets and POOF. Instant Devil summoning. It sounds so simple on paper.

Another awesome thing about being a Devil is that nobody, not even cops, pay a bit of attention to me while I'm on duty. If only it worked in everyday encounters. It would make my days so much less annoying to not have to fight the same exact delinquents everyday. I like fighting STRONG people. People like those idiots just bore and annoy me.

So I keep bicycling everyday, the dots on my 'Greed Scanner' never running out. I suppose humans are just naturally greedy.

Once you make a wish, it apparently becomes an addiction to keep on wishing for other ones.

One limitation to contracts is that they can only be performed at night. Apparently nighttime is a recurring theme for Devils while daytime is the theme for Angels. I guess Fallen Angels would be somewhere in-between.

There's never a shortage of wishes despite all of the Devils carrying out contracts. Our work just keeps going on and on. If we complete enough of these dull things, we get acknowledged by some sort of Devil King guy (someone who I might add to the list of 'People I want to fight'). I just gotta keep on working and then I'll have my own harem in no time! Honestly, my objective of getting strong is higher on the list of priorities, but it would be nice to acquire a harem meanwhile, you know?

So for now I just gotta keep doing the little jobs until I'm high enough on the food chain to do some of the bigger jobs...

* * *

OK, a little BS what Buchou has told me.

One day, after school, I met up at the old schoolhouse with the others after splitting up with Kiryuu. That was when Buchou told me that handing out those stupid leaflets was the job of her familiars. THEY are supposed to do this day and night but apparently she wanted me to 'know what kind of job Devils have to do from the beginning'.

Wasted five days on that. So that's good to know.

But it was good to know I wasn't the only one who had to do that kind of stuff. Even though it's practically grunt work, Kiba and the others have had to do this as well. Kiba, Toujou Koneko-chan, Himejima-senpai are all servant Devils of Buchou, but they are also my Devil senpais. It doesn't matter though. Someday I'll surpass all of them! I won't stop until I'm strong enough to surpass even God Himself!

I still have to catch up though since they have a huge head start when it comes to experience as a Devil. I still don't even know what my Sacred Gear does and Buchou herself admitted she doesn't quite know what it is. She's still looking for clues as to which one it is. All we know for sure is that I'm not ENTIRELY defenseless against whatever tricks those Fallen Angel bastards pull.

But back to the Occult Research Club. I have to say I was a little surprised when Toujou and Himejima-senpai gave me their permission to call them 'Koneko-chan' and 'Akeno-san' respectively. I didn't feel very comfortable calling Kiba 'Yuuto' or 'Kiba-kun' so I'm only calling him Kiba. The only part that made it seem like a fair trade was letting them call me by MY first name as well. I had to admit I was a little uncomfortable. The only people who've ever called me by my first name have been Nee-san and Kiryuu (never actually called her 'Aika' since we tried dating...that was awkward I'll admit). My fan girls don't count cos I don't really know them.

It was a good sign that we were all getting along. Just because we were all pieces to be used by Buchou didn't mean we couldn't all be friends. The only annoying parts are when the Perverted Duo start getting on my back about calling the others by their first names. Kiryuu didn't seem to mind as much, but there were MANY innuendos and sexual harassment moments.

I considered telling Kiryuu or maybe Nee-san about my new secret life, but they probably wouldn't believe me anyway. Perhaps it was for the best. If I dragged them into this world, they would only be put in danger. I wasn't even in this world before and I still got killed before being resurrected. Being close to me is dangerous enough. So my secret life remains with me and the Occult Research Club for now.

As I made my way to the room on the second floor, I couldn't help but feel strange that I've gotten used to walking to that room after only about a week. I walked to the door and spoke to whomever was on the other side.

"I'm coming in."

I opened the door and walked in.

My first thought: Dark.

As I entered, I noticed that everyone else was there ahead of me. I wasn't too bothered. Never was when it came to being on time except when it came to school. Makoto would murder me if I intentionally came late to school. That's one of the many buttons I would never push.

Inside the room, the windows were covered and candles were lit on the floor, revealing a large magic circle.

I notice Buchou nod to me as I entered the room. "Good. You're here."

"So what am I doing today?" I was starting to get bored with handing out leaflets. The excitement of the thought of what I would do when I ranked up enough wore out after a while. I can stay excited only for so long.

Buchou smiled. "Your job of giving out leaflets is now done. Well done, Shirou."

FINALLY! "So I can finally start making contracts now?" I asked. I would knock this one right out of the ball park. Mark my words. Nothing will stand between me and my dream!

Buchou nodded. "Yes."

But then a thought occurred to me. "I won't be...like taking people's SOULS, will I? I don't think I'd have a clear conscience completing contracts." Hey, I admit to being a battle-hungry idiot sometimes, but I'm pretty sure taking someone's soul would be tantamount to killing somebody. I'd prefer not to do that unless they really deserve it. Making a contract with a Devil doesn't automatically make you evil.

Thankfully, Buchou shook her head. "That's an outdated custom. We just take an item that they give us and fulfill their wish to complete the contract." Ah. Sounds legit. It's equal exchange. Devils do a favor for somebody and they give up something in return. Then I realized it would've been rather cost ineffective if everyone had to give up their soul for contracts. Considering the amount of people who make contracts with Devils, there should've been thousands of bodies on the death count. "As of now, your work handing out leaflets is finished. You can start your job as a Devil professionally."

Rock on!

Akeno waved me over to the center of the magic circle on the floor.

"Since this is your first time, we'll start small." Buchou said. "Yuuto got two contracts beforehand and is double-booked. It's hard to do both so I leave one to you."

Kiba was still smiling as usual. "I'll leave it to you, Shirou-kun."

Please don't call me Shirou-kun. I feel the strange urge to punch you in the face whenever you say that, stupid pretty boy.

I turned my attention to the magic circle as it started to emit blue and white lights.

"Is that-"

"Keep quiet, Shirou." Buchou commanded. I grunted, reluctantly obeying her order. "Akeno is currently inserting your carved seal into the magic-circle."

I was told that a carved seal was something of a family crest. The one in the circle on the floor must've been that of the "Gremory" family. And since Buchou's having one engraved into my hand, I guess this officially makes me Buchou's property. While being owned by a hot red-head would be somewhat appealing in an erotic sense, in this circumstance I can't say I like it. Even though I will easily disobey her if her commands get in my way, I still find it annoying to be someone's "property".

However, I understand of having a crest. The activation of demonic power is somehow related to this. Kiba and the others have these signs on their bodies in different sizes and it operates whenever they use their demonic-powers.

I thought about getting engraved with the same signs, but it seems like you have to learn how to control demonic-powers when you first become a devil, and then using demonic-power which creates natural phenomenon by coordinating it through the magic-circle after that...or some complicated BS like that. I hate thinking so much. It's so much simpler when I just have to punch something and everything works out.

"Shirou, put your palms towards there."

I lifted my my left hand and pointed it towards Buchou as told. She then began writing something on my palm with her fingers. It was some kind of charm.

If she's trying to pull some sort of voodoo-thing, I am going to be pissed.

She drew something reminiscent to the magic circle on the floor on my palm. It glowed blue and white just as the circle on the floor.

"This allows you to transport to the client's place instantly by making you go through the teleportation-type magic-circle. And when the contract is done, it lets you return to this room."

Ah. Pretty straightforward not to mention pretty damn handy. Oh what I wouldn't do if I had natural teleportation powers...but for now I would just settle for the magic circle.

"Akeno, are you ready?"

"Yes, Buchou."

Akeno stepped out of the magic circle.

Buchou then pointed towards the circle. "Now stand in the middle."

I obliged and went to the center of the magic circle on the floor. If anything, the circle began to glow even brighter, as if responding to my presence. I could feel a strange power flowing from the circle. I could feel it literally flowing THROUGH me. Apparently I should stop underestimating the power of Devils and the Gremory group.

"The magic-circle is responding to the client. You will be teleported to that location now. You already have the manual for what to do after getting teleported right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now get going and good luck." Buchou had a calming smile. I had to admit that it actually did calm me down. I just hoped that this didn't send me to the moon or something. I couldn't help but wonder if magic circles ever malfunctioned.

Well time to give a go at my first job! I'll definitely accomplish it!

I closed my eyes when the light became blindingly strong. I could literally FEEL myself being transported.

And then I wasn't there anymore.

* * *

Mission 1. START!...

Or it would as soon as I got a grasp on my surroundings.

I had to admit that the feeling of being teleported was incredibly exhilarating.

I opened my eyes in order to take in my surroundings. I must've been in the house of some rich people because this entrance hall was HUGE not to mention rather well-cleaned and fancy-looking.

"Oh, Mr. Deviiiiil~!" sang a very young and feminine voice. I turned to see a young girl, perhaps twelve or thirteen (possibly even fourteen), running up to me. She wore a red dress that only amplified her cuteness (No. Before you ask, I am not a lolicon, but I can appreciate cute things like children, puppies, girls, etc.) and was about three-fourths my size.

I never expected such a young girl to be a person to make a contract with a Devil.

The girl pouted slightly. "Awwww~! I wanted Yu-kun!" She seemed genuinely sad that Kiba was not the one she summoned. Apparently she was a regular customer.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Yeah. Sorry about that. Kiba was double-booked, so I got sent instead."

The girl quickly cheered up. "OK then! You're still as cute as Yu-kun so it's just as good."

I don't know what I find more annoying. The fact that I'm being compared to Kiba and that she called me 'cute' (NOT CUTE! BADASS! I'm BADASS) or the fact that I feel like I'm doing something wrong when a little girl looks up at me with such idolizing eyes. I'm a delinquent for Hell's sake. Why wouldn't she fear me...?

Instead, I simply said, "Thanks..." I then looked around. "Erm...what is it you want me to do exactly?"

"Sleep with me!"

...What?...WHAAAAAAT?!

The girl then puckered her lips and stood on her tiptoes to try and kiss me.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

I backed away as quickly as I could, flattening myself against the wall opposite the weird child.

"H-Hey! I may be a Devil, but I don't go for younger kids! I'm not a damn lolicon!" I shouted while waving my hands frantically. I don't give a damn if it WAS my first mission and I had to make a good impression! There's no way I was going to sleep with a kid!

I was confused when I saw the girl's eye twitch and her fists clench. I've seen that look on Mako-nee enough to know that this was not going to be pleasant. Any moment now that girl was going to go on a bloodthirsty rampage, kicking the crap out of anyone in her way until she calmed down...

That's why I was surprised when the girl instead crawled into the fetal position and started crying.

"It's not faaaaaaaaaaiiiiir!" she cried as tears started rolling down the sides of her face.

E-Eh?...I'm not quite sure, but I think I did something wrong here...Wait a minute. If she was Kiba's regular...Oh he didn't! When I get back, Kiba and I are going to have a friendly discussion.

"Yu-kun was much nicer and even he wouldn't sleep with me! I'm gonna die a virgiiiiin!" Well never mind about that discussion then.

"...Eh?" I asked quietly. Then even louder, "EEEEEEHHH!?" I was truly shocked by what this child was saying. I wondered what exactly was going on here. I was uncertain how to act so I tried the slow and easy way. "U-Um...i-it's not the end of the world. I mean you're s-still a kid so you still have plenty of time once you're older-"

"I'M NINETEEN, ASSHOLE!"

"I understand that but-"

Wait...what?...

"Er...C-Could you repeat that?"

The girl was once again crying. "I'm nineteen..." She remained silent for a few moments before I realized she was still crying. "...Even so, I looked like I'm in middle or elementary school. It's not fair..."

"Oh." was all I could say. It's funny how the awkwardness of a situation can render you unable to think out proper statements of questions.

"It's the way it's been for all my life...I've always been young looking and I didn't even get a nice rack to make up for it..." She cried. "It's not FAIR! I can't even get a DEVIL to sleep with me! And they're supposed to be all about corrupting children and virgins!"

Wow. What a huge misconception of Devils. I wonder if I thought like that at some point.

I shook my head. "Well some Devils may be like that, but not all of them. Anyway isn't summoning a Devil of all things a bit drastic?"

The girl shook her head. "The only guys I know are either lolicons or aren't interested! I'm doomed to die alone!" She then continued to cry. Part of me told me to get the Hell out of there but the more gentlemanly of my mind was commanding me it just ain't right to leave a girl crying like this. Seriously. She hasn't even reached her peak yet and she's already giving up!

That pissed me off.

"I-!" She was silenced when I hit her right upside the head. "OW! What was that for?!" She was glaring daggers at me.

OK, the mission of stopping her crying succeeded, but now I have the mission of keeping an angry midget girl from clawing my eyes out.

"You don't just give up because things aren't working out for you!" I raised my defiant fist into the air. "If fate gets in your way, then you throw your best fist forward and knock its teeth out! I, too, have retained my virginity. It's a fact that has pained me every moment of my life since I first entered high school." The girl's eyes widened at the fact that I had never slept with anybody. "However, unlike you, I choose to continue beating fate into submission until it gets the Hell out of my way! That is what it means to truly want the amazing experience known as sex! Even if I'm alone, I will continue to fight! Even if things seem hopeless, someday we virgins will be virgins no more!" I meant for that rant to go on for much longer while I devised a plan to escape this nightmare without drawing attention, but I was interrupted when I heard the sound of sniffling.

I turned back to the girl to see she was crying again, but this time out of happiness.

"T-That was...beautiful..." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "But how do you still have hope? What keeps you moving forward?"

I smirked. "Easy. Because someday I will be the man who will surpass God Himself! I will grow more powerful than Heaven and Hell combined! I will cut through the fabric of space and time! Along this path, I will get the power to fulfill my other dream: TO BUILD THE ULTIMATE HAREM!" I then laughed in an exaggerated fashion. "I swear on all that is unholy that I shall fulfill this dream!"

The girl then wiped her eyes. "I believe in you, Mr. Devil-sama! You can do it!" She then started crying, determination in her eyes. "If you believe, then I shall too!"

"That's the way, sister...!" I trailed off, having no idea what this girl's name was.

"Kotone!"

"That's the way, sister Kotone-san!" We bumped our fists together. "Keep moving forward even if the universe itself tries to defy you!"

"YEAH! I WON'T GIVE UP! Someday I WILL find a man who will have sex with me who ISN'T a lolicon! I REFUSE TO DIE A VIRGIN!"

And with that, I felt the energy in the room light up the world...only to completely fade away a few minutes later, leaving the two of us in awkward silence. I just remembered the reason I was here in the first place. I was so wrapped up in my 'preaching' that I had forgotten to plan out what came after.

"Sooo..." I said awkwardly. "...I mean since I'm not going to sleep with you...what now?"

Kotone-san placed a finger on her chin. "...wanna play in our family's video game room?" Oh yeah. I had completely forgotten the fact we were in some rich guy's house.

I thought about it. "Depends. What games you got?"

"I have the Mass Effect Trilogy for PS3, Dynasty Warriors 8, a Xbox One, Kingdom Hearts 1-3 and Fate/Unlimited Codes among all other things."

"Fate/Unlimited Codes!? Bitchin'!"

And for the next several hours, I spent my time playing video games with a rich girl. Now I can say honestly that rich people have the most BADASS gaming rooms ever.

Unfortunately, my first contract became invalid because I didn't fulfill any of client's wishes.

* * *

The next day, after school, I was certain I was in the dog house.

I stood in the OCR's classroom with Buchou. She didn't say a single word. If she was mad, I couldn't blame her really. I mean I DID kind of waste an entire night playing video games with an underdeveloped 19-year-old woman. In Kiba's own words, a case like this one had never happened before. I could tell it was bad because his usual smile had become bitter.

Damn. I can't believe I got so distracted! If I keep slacking off like that, I'll never achieve my goal!

"Shirou..." Yep. Pretty sure she's pissed judging from the tone of her voice.

"Er...yeah?" Here we go.

"So you played video games with the client...what happened after that? What about the contract?" Ah...So she doesn't know the details...

I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. I was more embarrassed than anything. "Well, you see...it kinda became invalid. To sum it up, she wanted to sleep with me, but I'm not a lolicon so I felt uncomfortable with it so..." Then I realized I was stalling. "And in the end we played video games until morning. Funny story, huh?" I laughed awkwardly once more. "Um...Sorry...hehehe..." Personally, I blame Type-Moon and Fate/Unlimited Codes for being SO DAMN ADDICTING!

There was an incredibly long and uncomfortable silence (mostly on my part).

She inhaled and I waited for some harsh, Devil judgement or something (I still didn't know THAT MUCH about stuff like this).

"…After the contract, we ask the client to fill in the questionnaire on the leaflet we gave them. We ask the client, "How was your contract with a Devil?". The questionnaire which is filled appears in this leaflet, but…" The crimson-haired princess the pulled out some sort of questionnaire for feedback or something...Wow. Devil jobs are more complex than I thought...I really miss the whole 'I-run-into-a-gang-and-punch-until-they-stop-moving' situations over this complicated stuff...

"…[It was fun. It was my first time having a good time like this. Shirou helped me see the light and I'd like to hang out with him again. I hope I can make a good contract with him next time. He's an amazing person.]" Buchou said. "This is the questionnaire filled by the client."

I felt my face grow warm with embarrassment.

Kotone-san...even though we hardly know each other...y-you say so nice.

"Shirou? Are you alright?" I realized that Buchou was staring at me with a strange look...curiosity maybe.

I shook my head, rubbing my face to try and remove some of the redness. "I-It's nothing! I-I'm not touched or e-embarrassed or anything!" I'm really not, Baka!

"Anyway," Buchou continued, ignoring my outburst. "This is the first time I received a feedback like this. I wasn't sure what to do first. That's why I put on a weird expression because I didn't know how to react to this."

Oh, so she wasn't pissed. That would be so much more satisfying if I had completed a contract.

"To Devils, what's important is that we actually make a contract with humans who summoned us. We then receive the price from them. That's how Devils have lived for a long time ago. …I didn't know how to react because this is the first time I encountered an incident like this. You might have failed as a Devil but the client was happy with you…" Buchou had a puzzled expression on her face. "But it's interesting. That is certain. There wasn't any Devil like you, but you really are an interesting boy. You might become the number 1 Devil for unexpected things." I'll take that as a compliment. "But remember to do the basics. You make contracts with the clients, you grant their wish, and then you receive the price. Okay?"

"Roger, bosslady!" I replied. I then realized my mistake. "I mean. Roger, Buchou!"

So I may have failed, but Buchou isn't going to incinerate me or something so it's all good I guess.

But just because I screwed up once doesn't mean I'm going to screw up again. I swear upon my life that I SHALL succeed in my next task! I SWEAR IT!

* * *

Mission 2...START!

This time I will not fail!

I was once again doing a job, but this time it's one of my own. Buchou said someone finally answered one of my leaflets, but judging from the location, it may have been someone who came across one of my leaflets by mistake. It's kinda depressing that someone actually threw theirs away. Then again, who wants to summon this guy right here? I AM the [Demon King of Kuoh] after all, although that name means little now that I am actually a Devil...a low-ranked one. I'm far from the Demon King right now, but someday I will surpass even the holder of that title himself.

But back to my job. I was surprised to see that I was inside what was apparently some sort of bedroom. Whoever had been here apparently cleaned up rather well because everything was just so nice and tidy.

"Ahem..." A voice coughed.

Oh right. My client.

I turned and bowed, determined to be a good boy and to do it right this time.

"Are you...the Devil I summoned...?" The voice, a woman's, sounded like she had to force those words out of her mouth. I looked up and my eyes widened.

She was a tall and buxom woman with long, navy blue hair that obscured her right eye and had brown eyes.

Her attire consisted of a violet, trenchcoat-like top with a wide collar, a matching miniskirt, and black heeled shoes. The trenchcoat top was open at her chest, giving view to her breasts and cleavage. She also wore a gold necklace around her neck.

She clutched her right harm with her left hand and had an embarrassed look on her face, as if she couldn't believe she had to resort to summoning a Devil for whatever she needed to have done.

All in all, I only had one word to describe her appearance: STRIIIIIIKE~!

The best part was she was an Onee-sama~!

She raised an eyebrow and I realized that I had a goofy expression on my face. I quickly shook my head and returned to my serious expression.

"The answer to your question would be yes. Is it fair to assume that you are my client?"

The beautiful Onee-sama nodded, still embarrassed about something. There was a long silence between the two of us after that. I, not being one for those types of silences, chose to smash it to pieces.

"So was there something you needed done? Housework? Advice on life? Anything?!" I sighed. "I mean unless it's some kind of sexual act, I don't see why you can't just up and say it!...Wait. It's _not_ a sex act, right? Cos-"

"No!" The Onee-sama answered in a way that sounded neither angry nor upset. Mostly just embarrassed. Her blush made her seem much cuter than before. "Just...just come see a movie with me!" I blinked, surprised.

"That...that's it?" Well, I'd like to say I dodged a bullet with that one after my encounter with Kotone-san, but I'm actually a little disappointed that this Onee-sama didn't want to seduce me. Oh well. "Sure. I can totally do that."

The Onee-sama nodded. "G-Good..." She reached forward and for a second I thought she was going to attack. I was halfway through raising my other fist when I realized she was just grabbing my hand, holding it as if she had never done such a thing before. Despite that, she had a surprisingly strong grip, definitely stronger than most normal humans. "L-Let's go..."

And then she dragged me out of her house to go see a movie.

* * *

Why my client chose a sappy romance movie, I had no clue.

Regardless, I ended up being dragged to the movie theaters by my client to see something along the lines of "Me Plus You Equals Love" or some cheesy BS title like that. It was a movie about a student who was in love with his admittedly hot teacher about ten-fifteen years older than him. I didn't really follow along. It just got too disgustingly sappy and I was severely resisting the urge to hurl.

My client enjoyed the movie though if her tears were something to judge by. Her previous embarrassment slowly faded away as the movie went on. Apparently this Onee-sama was into romance movies. Out of boredom, I checked on her every now and then to see how she was doing and her eyes never left the screen. I had to stop checking because at some point in the movie, my client had decided to wrap her arms around mine, apparently forgetting I was just the Devil she summoned, and erasing any chances of me checking on her without her noticing.

I had no choice but to actually WATCH the movie and while I didn't understand much of what was going on, even I had felt the ending was sad or at least bittersweet.

Although the protagonist of this film was in love with his teacher, bonding with her and starting to have her gain feelings for him as well, he convinced her to reconcile with her husband who could provide her a better future and was genuinely in love with her still. The protagonist ended up crying, happy he did what his heart told him but hurting at the same time...Couldn't tell you why the teacher broke it off with her husband in the first place but oh well...So yeah. That is how I spent these past two hours.

Even after we returned to the lobby, my Onee-sama client was still trying, dabbing her eyes with tissues that she produced seemingly out of thin air.

"So what now?" I asked. My client seemed to realize she was still holding onto my arm and let go, once again expressing embarrassment plainly on her face. She quickly released me and took stepped away.

"J-Just shut up and follow me!" She grabbed my hand and then we were moving again.

Then my client started dragging me all across town. First we stopped at the mall. She dragged me around, staring through all of the windows of all the shops like a kid in a candy store. We eventually walked into one of the clothing stores and I had the vaguest sense of déjà vu. I remember doing something suspiciously similar to this before...

I subconsciously rubbed where my old chest wound had been.

My client seemed even more excited as she walked into the changing room with various outfits and dresses. She didn't say anything, but I assume she expected me to wait outside for her.

And so I did, feeling like I've done something like this before.

"I'm coming out." My Onee-sama client announced before the door to the dressing room opened. I stood at attention.

I had to admit she was rather stunning.

She wore a long, floral sundress that somehow gave her more of a natural sexual appeal than her purposefully tight trench coat-like top while still emphasizing her amazing bust along with sandals. I gave a big thumbs up, thankfully not excited enough to have a nosebleed.

"You look amazing." I admitted, blushing slightly. Normally I would just be silent and give small answers to whether someone looked good in something, but this was a random client who I would probably NEVER meet again in my normal human activities.

My client blushed and crossed her arms behind her back. "R-Really?" She then shook her head, as if taking back her question before disappearing back into the changing room.

What was that about? I mean is she really so embarrassed about summoning a Devil? If so, WHY DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE THEN!?

I waited a bit longer as my client once again changed into another outfit before walking out the door of the changing room again.

This time she came blushing more deeply, wearing a sexy red dress and ruby-red high heels. "W-Well?"

I rubbed my chin. "Well I don't think anything could look less than hot on you!" And here I was thinking the woman's face couldn't flush any more than before. Clearly I was wrong as her face became the same color as tomatoes.

"B-Baka! S-Shut up!" She then disappeared again into the changing room. I just couldn't figure this chick out. She's asking for me to do stuff, but she seems like she's trying to be pissed about getting complimented by a Devil. I mean she DOES know I'm not gonna really take her soul, right?

And the pattern continued repeating itself like that for a while. The beautiful Onee-sama would change into a beautiful outfit and ask my opinion before blushing and disappearing again, sometimes with an embarrassed insult.

It went on like that for around an hour before my client eventually came out in her original tight outfit and the other clothes she had tried on in her arms. "L-Let's go." She walked right past me, not paying me a single glance. I waited as she paid for the clothes and carried them around in shopping bags as we departed the store.

I trailed behind her with my arms behind my head. "So where to now?"

My client blushed again. "J-Just shut up! I don't want to hear your voice!"

That does it! I was pissed. I have taken it the entire trip, but I wasn't taking it anymore. "OK! What-THE FUCK- is your problem?! What the Hell did I do wrong, huh?!"

My client face-palmed, as if I was the one being a total jerk. "I can't believe I was lonely enough to summon a Devil!"

"Well I-Wait, what? 'Lonely'?" I asked, my angry turning into confusion. My client tensed, as if realizing her slip before shaking her head.

"Never mind. Your contract is over. Just...just go home or whatever..." My client sighed. I was about to oblige to her request and just forget the whole thing when-

"FUJIMURA! We finally found you!"

Oh great. What relieves the tension more than 'clowns'?

In a second, we were surrounded by a bunch of stereotype thugs resembling delinquents whose asses I have so gracefully handed to them before.

I scratched my head, sighing as I stepped in front of my client. "Geez. You guys sure know how to ruin a guy's already shitty mood."

"Shut up, Fujimura! We're-" That delinquent then noticed my client standing behind me with a look that clearly revealed his less-than-paragon intentions. He grinned as he looked back to his comrades. "Hey guys, I know who we're gonna do when we're through with Fujimura!"

I stared. "Don't you mean wh-"

"I know what I said!"

"Ah." I then readied my fighting stance. I want to see how much more efficient my new Devil strength made me in combat. "So what's say we skip the witty banter and just get to me kicking your ass?"

The more experienced delinquents who had been easily beaten by me often enough began conversing with each other and then their speaker, causing him to click his tongue in annoyance.

"OK. It looks like the boys want to forgo on the fight today!" He said. "So I'll give you a choice: You can just leave your girlfriend with us and leave, or you can stay, get your ass kicked, and watch us and your girl!"

Well, they are TECHNICALLY getting smarter, but they are stupid as Hell still. I looked back at my client and my eyes widened at the look in her eye. It was one of absolute emptiness. As if she was expecting to be abandoned in her time of need and prepared to act accordingly.

"How about I got with option 3: NONE OF THE ABOVE!" I shouted back at them. "I'd rather die than abandon this beautiful Onee-sama! I DO have my pride as a man after all! To leave her behind to garbage like you would make me someone LOWER than garbage!"

"Then DIE!" I didn't have much time to reflect on how much of a badass I was as the first delinquent charged with a wooden practice sword.

I sighed before turning back to my client. She had a surprised look on her face and a hand over her heart. Yep. I am a total badass.

"Hey. Would you mind closing your eyes for a sec? This will be over soon." My client stared at me, eyes filled with suspicion before nodding. She closed her eyes as I asked. I then turned back to our 'company', cracking my knuckles. "One second."

OK. So I ended up being off by nine seconds, but it was still impressive.

I didn't tell my client to open her eyes until I guided her past the unconscious bodies of my vict-I mean-er-'opponents' if they were strong enough to be referred to as such.

We walked side-by-side, neither saying a word. God (Ouch!) I hate awkward silences.

"Thank you."

I stared in absolute shock at my client's thanks. She noticed and turned away, blushing yet again.

I had to think fast! I didn't want the awkward silence to return. "Soooo...can I ask why we've been doing all this stuff we've been doing all day?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at my question. "Really? You haven't realized we've been on a date by this point? Have you never been on a date before?"

I winced a little, once again subconsciously rubbing the old wound I had received courtesy of Yuuma. "Well...it didn't end too well." I then tensed when I realized what she had said. My face heated up unbelievably quick at the realization. "D-D-DATE?!"

Apparently my reaction had been funny because my client put her hand over her mouth, trying to suppress her giggles. "My, you really ARE innocent, aren't you?"

"HEY!"

Her smile became a sad one rather quickly. I felt a feeling in my chest that mirrored the sadness in her expression. "I suppose you're not like him..."

"Like who?" I asked, curious as to what she was talking about.

My client sighed. "Well. Long story short and simple, I used to have a boyfriend who I really shouldn't have been seeing. I wasn't supposed to give my first time away, I was deeply in love with him so I didn't mind the consequences. Even though I didn't want to, I ended up leaving my family as a result of my actions, expecting to be comforted in my sorrow by the man I loved. What do you know, the bastard dumps me and leaves me, having gotten what he wanted from me. Because I was a lovestruck idiot, I ended up sad and alone."

I blinked, completely stopping in my tracks. "Whoa...I...I'm not quite sure how to respond to that. Just...damn. I can see why...Actually, I still don't see why you've been rude to me this entire evening. Hell, why go out at all? I'd figure that you'd become embittered with men and love in general and become a nun or something."

My client's smile became a bit sadder and I feared I messed up royally. "Well, I admit I was a little bitter, but even after I found some good friends, I still felt lonely. I got fed up with it and decided to use the services of a Devil for company. Same experience but no chance of hurt and betrayal."

"That sounds depressing." I said bluntly. I wasn't gonna lie. "I mean, does it really help?"

My client shook her head. "No. Just reminded me how empty I felt inside."

Oh dear Maou! Now I'm definitely depressed! No joke or wisecrack is gonna get me out of this. I mean...damn...

And then my conscience took over my speech. "Hey. I might not known much about romance and stuff like that, but if you ever need someone to hang out with, just summon me right up and I'll be happy to help out."

My client's eyes widened slightly before her expression shifted back into the smile I liked to see. She nodded.

"Thank you."

"Shirou." I said quickly.

"What?"

"That's my name. My name is Shirou." I figured if we were going to interact on a regular basis, we'd best know each others name.

My client bowed her head slightly. "And I am Kalawarner. Despite the fact you're a Devil, it's good to meet you."

Kalawarner?...Nice name. She does seem a bit foreign so it would explain why her name seems a little different from the norm. Apparently I'm rather capable at befriending my clients.

"Do you want me to take you home, Kalawarner-san?" I asked. Kalawarner's face flushed. I considered what I said and blushed lightly. "B-Baka! Not like that! Do you want me to walk you there?!"

Kalawarner-san shook her head. "N-No. It's fine. I've taken up enough of your time as it is. And it's just Kalawarner. You don't have to use honorifics."

"OK then. Later, Kala-Wait a minute." I paused. Kalawarner stared.

"What?"

"I just realized something. Out of all the possible people you could summon for a date, why did you summon a guy who's not even out of high school?" It's kinda weird when you think about it. "I mean a hot Onee-sama like you could get any guy you wanted, you wouldn't even have to look for a Devil. If you asked, the guy would probably throw themselves at your feet."

Kalawarner's smile became more teasing as a light blush was all that colored her cheeks. "About that...well let's just say I have a thing for younger men. And with a Devil, it's not illegal or morally wrong since it's a contract. Plus I'm actually satisfied with the one I summoned." She gave me a wink before grabbing all of her bags. "You are one of the manliest men I've ever met, Shirou." With that, Kalawarner left, leaving me stunned and confused.

Was she...Was she just hitting on me?

* * *

_Later..._

**Kalawarner's POV...**

Suffice to say, I was in a much better mood when I met up with the others. I honestly didn't know what I had been expecting when I summoned a Devil earlier.

I was a little unsettled when I learned Azazel-sama occasionally summoned a Devil to hang out with and indulge in his habits of video games and motorbike racing (how he had the time for it all, I would never know)...but Shirou was honestly kind of hot.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm smitten with him or anything! He's just the kind of young guy I'd be interested in is all!

Great, now my face is turning red. I have to calm down or the others will start prying.

Think calm thoughts, Kalawarner. Caaaaalm thoughts. Don't think about that well-toned bod or how strong he is or-DAMN IT!

It ended up taking me a half hour before I could trust myself to walk into our base at the old church. I had to, otherwise Mittelt would never let me hear the end of it. I loved her like a little sister, but I had to admit she was childishly obnoxious sometimes.

We chose this place because Azazel-sama had told us to keep an eye on some Sacred Gear-user who had yet to awaken. I was honestly surprised when Kokabiel-sama told us that that same Sacred Gear-user had to be killed. Raynare was especially surprised that such an order came from Azazel-sama. It would be one thing if the Sacred Gear-user had definitely joined one of the other factions or if he had killed a Fallen Angel, but just to suddenly order someone to die seemed oddly out of character. It didn't help that KOKABIEL-SAMA of all people was the one to deliver it. He had such an un-trustable face honestly.

I also found myself slightly amused when I noticed Raynare's reluctance to accept the order at first. If I had to guess, she had started to like their target prior to that point. If it would blossom into love, we would never know as he is now dead. Definitely dead. Raynare told us herself that she skewered him like a shish kabob. Didn't seem happy about it either. Not entirely broken up, but she seemed like she had just had to have a pet dog put down. Something along those lines.

Hmm...When I think about it, maybe I should talk to her about it.

As it turned out, I didn't have to.

When I walked into the church, I was surprised by the immediate seriousness of the atmosphere. My three friends stood near the back of the church.

Raynare had a slightly humiliated look while Mittelt had a smug one, like she had just got done teasing Raynare about some sort of failure. Dohnaseek had a hand over his face, like he was tired just listening to them bicker.

"What's going on?" seemed like the logical question to ask.

Dohnaseek turned to me and nodded. "Ah, Kalawarner. I see you've returned from your 'errands'." I flinched a little. I think he suspected what I had been up to, but I don't think he cared as long as it didn't get in the way of our plans. And if he didn't, no point in bringing it up. "We were just discussing-"

"-how Raynare failed the ONE JOB she had!" Mittelt smirked, taking enjoyment in Raynare's failure, mostly because of her embarrassment about it. She meant nothing seriously malicious by it, but I still felt tempted to smack her upside the head.

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

Dohnaseek adjusted his hat over his eyes. "Apparently, shortly after Raynare left the boy she had just 'killed', he was turned into a Devil."

I could feel my heart beat harder inside my chest. "What?"

"Hey! It's not my fault that that Gremory bitch saved Shirou! I killed him!"

S-Shirou?! N-No! Don't panic, Kalawarner. It might be a different Shirou.

I silently thanked whatever deity out there that I left that summoning circle of mine back home.

"I think you went easy on him!" Mittelt teased. "I mean it's obvious you li-"

"I DON'T LIKE HIM!" Raynare screamed as if she had been doing it for a while. If you don't feel anything, then why are you blushing? "Damn it...if Azazel-sama finds out about this, he'll never love me!"

"S-So this 'Shirou' person..." I said, stepping in. "What does he look like anyway?" I felt everyone's gazes snap towards me. Shit, I think I just screwed myself over. My heart only started again when I heard Mittelt laugh again. She then slipped me a photo she had kept hidden somewhere.

"Even though it was 'just a mission', Raynare still kept a photo~!"

"SHUT UP! All I said was that I had fun hanging out with him and that's it!" I turned my attention to the photo that my shorter 'sister' handed me and I felt my heart stop again. It was a picture of a boy standing awkwardly next to Raynare in her disguise as 'Yuuma Amano'. The boy next to her was disturbingly familiar.

Same white hair. Same dark-blue eyes. Same look like he has no skills when it comes to romance.

Yep. That is definitely Shirou.

I went out on a date with a target.

And the worst part was that I don't mind that. He's still fun to be around and I don't know how to react to thought of him dying...for the second time apparently. He was the first man in a long time I actually enjoyed being around (Dohnaseek doesn't count because we're more like work friends).

"So what will we do about him?" I asked, hiding any and all emotion under a mask of seriousness. "Do we kill him?"

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

Raynare thought about it for several seconds before shaking her head. "It's too dangerous now. If we kill him now, we might risk the wrath of the Gremory family." Oh thank God. "While it's annoying how he didn't die like I wanted him to, we still have that 'other person' coming."

I nodded.

Ah yes. That nun who uses the Sacred Gear known as Twilight Healing. I had to admit that I felt a little bad for her.

Kicked out of the church and now she's literally walking to her death, unaware of Azazel-sama's plans...which also came to us through Kokabiel-sama. Somehow it made me feel worse when it came from that creepy-faced guy.

She was supposed to be arriving soon. Maybe tomorrow.

Why do I feel so tired all of a sudden? Maybe I'll call up Shirou tomorrow and see if he's up for another date...

**CHAPTER 3-COMPLETED! After a good few weeks, I have arrived with chapter 3 of Devil Reborn! HAHAHA! BET NONE OF YOU WERE EXPECTING THAT! So yeah...Kalawarner has a thing for younger guys in this story! What do you think? Huh huh?!  
**

**I thank you for the reads and reviews!**

**Bye-Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4: Friends and Nuns

**I'm sorry about the delays...lost internet for a long while...on the bright side, as a gift, I have TWO chapters for you! **

**I'm happy that this story has reached chapter 4! I still want to thank my buddy Triplesquidge for all the help he's given me! To Devil Reborn!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except OC's.**

**Chapter 4:**

**Friends and Nuns**

**Shirou's POV...**

The good news: I did technically complete my second contract.

The bad news: I forgot to collect my payment from Kalawarner after everything that happened to the other day.

Buchou seemed a little tired at my mistake, but not quite angry. The same puzzled expression from before was on her face, but she didn't seem as angry as she could've been. It was mostly because, once again, my client had given me a positive review on the questionnaire she received.

I was going to have to ask Kalawarner for the payment for the previous job next time I see her. Maybe that'll make up for the original mistake. Really though, I am not off to a good start. I failed the first job and I forgot to receive the payment for the second.

Damn! I'll never rise through the ranks if things keep going on like this!

So I was just sitting on the park bench, blowing off some steam, cursing God for creating the sun that exhausts me so. I think the first thing I do when I surpass God will be to extinguish the sun. Long term consequences be damned.

Ha! I wish. I might be selfish enough to do it, but total darkness would bum me out a little after a while.

I sighed. I was just bored right now. Not much to do until I get summoned for a contract again later tonight. So I was just sitting and-

"HAWAA!" I heard a voice scream behind me as I heard something hit the ground. I turned, curious, to look behind me to see a blonde-haired Sister laying face-down on the ground. I really wanted to know how clumsy she was to fall down like that. There wasn't a single bump or rock anywhere! "Owww...Why did I trip?" That's what I want to know!

I was about to ask whether or not she was okay when I ended up looking between her legs. Her skirt was short enough to reveal her pure white panties underneath.

I preemptively plugged up my nose to keep the blood from gushing from it.

Shit! I'm looking at the panties of a Sister! Even though I'm a Devil, it feels like I'm doing something morally wrong. Like I'm defiling her with my eyes.

Ah, damn. What should I do right now?

_"She's pure and defenseless!"_ screamed the tiny Devil Shirou on my shoulder. _"She's free eye candy! Not like you're hurting anybody!"_

I stared at the tiny Devil me. "That's a fair point I guess, but shouldn't I help her up?" I then turned to my other shoulder to see nobody there. "Er...shouldn't there be-?"

"_You're a Devil remember? Why would there be an Angel Shirou?"_

Ah. That was a fair point. A better question would be whether or not I'm going insane right now due to the moral conflict I am undergoing?

Ah to Hell with it!

I walked over to the Sister with a mildly worried/awkward expression on my face. "Er...are you okay?" I gave her my hand to help her up.

"Ah. Thank you."

Her voice sounded very young. She seemed to be just around my age. Maybe just a bit younger.

I was about to say something else when a sharp gust of wind blew the Sister's veil off her head. Her blonde hair which was hidden underneath fell on her shoulders. It may have been a trick of the light, but I could've sworn she was sparkling.

I stared for several seconds before snapping out of it, unsure why I was entranced in the first place.

I picked her veil off the ground nearby and handed it back to her. I then realized I was still staring at her and panicked. I had to change the subject. "O-Oh! Your suitcase!"

Smooth, Shirou. Reeaaal smooth.

The Sister knelt down by her suitcase that was currently open with articles of scattered clothing around it. "It's fine. I can get it myself."

"Then I'll help." I offered. I knelt down beside the Sister and began picking up and folding clothes before putting them back into the suitcase. I only paused when I came to the most interesting article. A pair of pure white panties. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

T-They were so soft!

The Sister screamed from embarrassment as she quickly snatched the panties from my hands and shoved them back into the suitcase. When she bent over...I saw them again around her legs. "I-I'm sorry!"

I quickly averted my gaze upward to avoid giving myself a nosebleed and from looking without permission.

The Sister turned to me with an embarrassed expression on her face. "S-sorry...You saw a bad side of me..."

Actually...it was kinda nice...really nice...

"So, you traveling?" It was the only question I could think of. She didn't seem to be from around here and it seemed like a good way to get the ball rolling on this conversation rather than the subject of her panties. Despite not being a busty Onee-sama, I felt compelled to talk to this girl.

The Sister shook her head. "No. That's not it. I was appointed to the church in this town… You must be a resident of this town." She bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to meet yo-A-Are you alright?"

She asked this because I had suddenly leaped to my feet and crossed my arms in defense. It was a habit. I was used to getting tricked by the harmless damsel in distress and led into an ambush. Even though I didn't feel that this girl could hurt a fly, I still had the powerful reflex to defend myself. I blushed from absolute embarrassment myself. "It's nothing."

The Sister seemed relieved at this. "I have been in trouble since I got here. Ummm…I can't speak Japanese that well…I was lost and other people couldn't understand what I was saying…" She held her hands to her chest with a sad expression on her face.

So she can't speak Japanese. The reason I must be able to understand her must be because of this unique ability Buchou told me that Devils have called "Language". The moment you become a Devil, it doesn't matter where you go, everyone can understand what you're saying. Whether they speak English, Spanish, German, Japanese, etc., they will be able to understand you and you will be able understand them.

I honestly didn't entirely believe it until now. I didn't think much of it during my English class when I started to excel because I actually studied. Guess there was more to it than that. Nobody really paid attention to it but apparently some of my fan girls adored me more for 'being an academic'. Maybe I didn't notice it because I SPOKE the language easily but the English characters still remained the same.

So she was looking for the church, huh?...Is she talking about the one on the edge of town?

And suddenly my mouth acted on its own. "If you're looking for the church, I probably know where it is." Shut up, me! "I can take you there if you want." I didn't know it was still used though. I visited the place once before I became a Devil. It didn't look like anyone had been there in a while. Maybe they're starting to put it to use again.

There was no changing my mind when I saw the stars in the girl's eyes. "Y-You do!? T-Thank you! The Lord is truly smiling down upon me!" I cringed as a powerful wave of pain shoot through my body. Every last nerve in my body burned like fire. I did my best to swallow my reaction to keep from alerting the Sister.

Of course it hurt! I'm a Devil! I shouldn't even be TALKING to this girl! I turned to tell her I couldn't anymore when I saw her face.

Tears were flowing from her adorable, puppy dog eyes.

Geez! D-Don't stare at me with such eyes! It's embarrassing...Damn you, puppy dog-eyes girl...

I turned away, gesturing her to follow. "Come on...I'll take you there."

And so we ended up on our way to the church, the Sister following behind me. Due to my awkwardness, our trip passed in mutual silence.

"Uwaaaaaah!" The sound of a young boy crying shattered the silence like glass. I was about to shrug it off and continue walking when I realized that the Sister was not following me but rather walking towards the boy, crouching down in front of him with a kind expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" The Sister asked. "A boy shouldn't be crying over little things like this." She gently patted the boy on the head. He probably had NO IDEA what she was saying, but he could probably sense her good intentions by the her kind and trustworthy expression. The Sister placed her palm where the boy injured himself.

I was about to ask her what she was doing when a green light orb appeared from the Sister's palm and flashed onto the boy's knee.

My eyes widened in shock.

No way! That's-No. It wasn't any kind of demonic power. If she were a Devil, she wouldn't be able to even wear that cross around her neck...I clutched my left arm as my own power created a strange ache as if responding to the light, giving me the answer to the Sister's ability.

-Sacred Gear. A power that is bestowed upon certain people. I had forgotten that many other people possess Sacred Gears so it would be stupid to think that I would never encounter another Sacred Gear-user outside the Reincarnated Devils. There has to be a lot of Sacred Gears with a lot of different abilities.

So the Sister is also a possessor of a Sacred Gear, but what-

Then I noticed the boy again. His injury was gone!

The Sister patted the boy on the head again. "Here. Your wounds are healed. The pain should be gone now."

"Yoshi-kun, where did you go?!" A woman who was no doubt the boy's mother ran over to him. The boy happily ran over to his mother, pointing at the Sister and smiling as if he had never been injured.

"Ah, that Onee-chan over there! She healed my injury!"

The Sister smiled at the mother. "It looked like he fell, so I helped him."

Rather than say any thanks, the mother pulled the boy away and started walking away. Over her shoulder, I saw her shoot the Sister a dirty look. "You shouldn't talk to strange people. Let's go."

I don't know why, but those words start to make my blood boil. I stepped in front of the Sister, shooting my own anger-filled look. "You know what, lady?! I-!" Then the Sister grabbed my sleeve, making me stop.

"It's fine." She said quickly.

I shot the Sister a concerned glance. "You understood that?"

She shook her head. "I don't understand the language, but I know..." She trailed off. I shot another glare at the mother. I think I somewhat understood why I was so pissed off. Those eyes...that look on that mother's face...while it was for a different reason, the look was exactly the same. It was the same one I got from most people who passed me by. From people who knew my name and reputation. Shunning me. Rejecting my very existence. Treating me like some sort of freak without really getting to know me.

I didn't see her face, but I could sense a feeling of sadness from the Sister.

It pissed me off to no end. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I could deal with it and just ignore it, but to give that look to the Sister was-

"Thank you, Onee-chan!" I was snapped out of it by that boy's words. The boy waved cheerfully to the Sister who seemed to smile as she waved back. I then turned back to the Sister and translated his words, but she seemed to already understand what he was saying.

The Sister turned to me and tapped herself on the head, sticking out her tongue.

"Sorry. I get meddlesome sometimes."

I was still gritting my teeth though. "What was with that bitch? She was like that even after you helped her son. Next time, I'll-"

"Being disliked by others is normal." The Sister interrupted. "I'm used to it..." I felt troubled by that. With someone like me, being used to such things should be expected, but someone like the Sister being treated like that...

"That power you used..." I started, trailing off slightly.

"Yes, it's the power to heal. It's a wonderful power that God gave me." She was smiling...but she seemed so sad. I thought about asking about it, but I decided against it. It was probably none of my business anyway.

It's not like I could say "Hey. I have a Sacred Gear too." anyway. I might as well also say "Hey. I'm a Devil. Please get all of your church friends and kill me with your crosses and holy water.".

Besides, apparently some people actually suffer because of this unusual power. Even I was a little uncertain how to feel about my Sacred Gear. I still don't know how to use it so I can't say I'm happy at all. I was killed because of it and I can't even figure out how it works.

"Anyway, let's go." I told the Sister.

She bowed to me. "Yes. Please take care of me!"

The rest of our journey faded into silence. It didn't take that much longer before we reached the old church. I still don't recall the place being used until recently, but there were people inside. I could tell because lights were on.

The place gave me the chills and I was sweating like crazy. I wasn't afraid, but I could tell the reason.

Holy ground.

I'm a Devil. The church, which is pretty much belongs to God and the Angels, is enemy territory.

That's why Buchou had told me to stay away from them. Even just standing this close was making my danger senses go crazy.

The Sister seemed so happy when we got there. "This is it! I'm so glad!" I did my best to keep my expression straight. I didn't want to give away the fact that I was a Devil when I'm so close to the Angels' home turf. I looked upward towards the setting sun. It was getting late.

While she wasn't an Onee-sama, I found it a shame to say good-bye to such a beauty. But it would never work out between a nun and a Devil anyway even if I did want to pursue the relationship...would it?

...I wasn't afraid of the church, but my Devil blood inside of me made it very clear that getting more involved with them was a bad move right now. I put my arms behind my head as I turned to leave.

"Well, it's been fun, but-"

"Please wait!" The Sister grabbed onto my sleeve. "I would like to make you some tea as a gratitude for taking me here—" I shook my head.

"Sorry." I apologized. "But I'm in a bit of a rush, so I gotta go."

"...but that's..." I admit I felt a little bad because of that troubled expression she had on her face. I know she just wanted to make it up to me by making tea, but I'm pretty sure stepping foot inside that church was tantamount to suicide. I admit I'm somewhat crazy and bloodthirsty sometimes, but I'm not suicidal. I shot a glare at the cross perched on the highest point on the church as if it were alive. The Sister didn't seem to notice though.

I figured I should at least give her my name. Maybe it would make up for it somehow. "The name's Shirou Fujimura. But you can call me Shirou. May I ask for the pretty lady's name?" I added that last part just for fun.

The Sister seemed to blush a little at being called 'pretty', but she spoke her own name.

"My name is Asia Argento! Please call me Asia!" I waved to her as I walked away.

"Then I hope we meet again, Sister Asia. May the Lord smile down upon you and show you His kindness." I felt a HUGE, almost unbelievable surge of pain at my mention of Him, but I felt it was an appropriate way to end our encounter.

"And you as well, Shirou-san! I hope to see you again too!"

Little did I know how fateful that 'seemingly coincidental meeting' was.

* * *

_Later that night..._

"Don't ever get close to the Church again."

Surprise surprise. Once again, I was being scolded by Buchou. Due to her more serious than usual expression, I could tell she really was pissed at me this time.

I rubbed the back of my neck, somewhat bored and annoyed. "OK OK, I understand. Give me a break."

That didn't really quell Buchou's anger. I think I may have actually fanned the flames a little. "I don't think you DO understand. To us Devils, the Church is an enemy's territory. Just stepping into it can cause an incident between the Devils and God. Since it was an act of kindness by taking the nun to the Church, they didn't harm you, but the Angels are always on the lookout. You were in a situation where it wouldn't be strange for them to hit you with a spear of light."

So it wasn't just the chill of being on holy ground. Apparently I had been watched. I guess my Devil instincts were telling me I had walked into a dangerous situation after all.

"And don't get involved with people from the Church. Especially the Exorcists who are our biggest enemy. They could easily eliminate us because their powers are supported by the prayer of God. More so if it is an Exorcist with a Sacred Gear. That would be the same as standing on the boundary of death, Shirou."

I subconsciously thought of Sister Asia. If she had known I was a Devil...would she have attacked me? I did my best to shove that thought to the back of my mind, but it kept nagging me.

I sighed. "Yeah. I get it. I won't do it again." I really wish she would stop lecturing me. As long as I don't cause a huge incident, I see no reason why she should give a rat's ass about what I do.

But Buchou wasn't finished. "You could avoid death as a human by being resurrected as a Devil. But Devils who are exorcised become completely terminated. They return to nothing. NOTHING. There is nothing left and you feel nothing. Do you know how serious that is?"

NOW I really got it. If I ended up messing with the Church, I would be reduced to a state of nonexistence. That thought sent a chill down my spine. It felt like I was standing right in front of the church again. Just a single slip up and I was gone for good.

Apparently my expression satisfied Buchou that I understood. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I got too heated. Anyway, be careful from now on."

"Roger, boss lady." Buchou shot me a look, but she was apparently going to drop it for now. And that was where that conversation ended.

"Ara ara, did you finish lecturing him?"

I did my best to conceal my surprise at the sudden appearance of Akeno-san behind me, smiling as usual. Seriously, she was like a ninja or something!

"Akeno, did something happen?"

Akeno-san's expression changed after Buchou asked her, becoming more serious.

"We received an order for a hunt from the Archduke."

* * *

And now we were hunting down a Stray Devil.

Stray Devils were Devils who betrayed or killed their masters. It's rare, but not unheard of from what Buchou told me.

Where there's power, there's always someone who's going to abuse it. It's the same for Devils as it is for humans. There will always be those who choose to use that power for their own self-interests.

Stray Devils leave their master's side and end up causing problems somewhere else. They are no different from Stray dogs in a way. They cause trouble for quite a lot of people. That's why the law of the Devils states that when they are found, they are to be eliminated. Other races like Angels and Fallen Angels also seem them as threats and eliminate them as well.

I went to the unused building located at the outer part of the town along with Buchou, Akeno-san, Kiba, and Koneko-chan.

There was a rumor that one such Stray Devil is hidden in this house, hunting and devouring humans at night.

I could totally see a law-breaking Devil hiding in that house. It was creepy as Hell. It was like one of those haunted houses you see in horror movies where you find yourself screaming at the screen, shouting at the stupid characters not to go into the obviously haunted house.

"…The stench of blood." was Koneko-chan's response. I sniffed the air, but I couldn't quite figure out what she was talking about.

Maybe she just has a better sense of smell than me.

I shoved my hands into my pockets as we entered the house. I could feel the quietness of the house add to the tension. This was because I could FEEL the abnormal killing intent directed towards us. I readied myself to fight and I KNEW a fight was coming. And so we started our search for the Stray Devil.

Buchou was clearly the leader of this expedition. While I admittedly wasn't very fond of her, she looked rather reliable.

"Shirou, it's a good opportunity to experience what it's like to fight."

I raised an eyebrow. "Not to be rude, but I KNOW what it's like to fight." Seriously, I get into a fight every other day!

Bucho shook her head. "Not with Devils you don't." Was there really that much of a difference? I figured it would just be throwing larger punches against one another. I felt my pride get hurt by that comment, but I said nothing. Devils were supposed to be strong so I was hoping this would finally be my chance to fight against someone who actually gave me a challenge. "You can watch what a Devils' battle is like. Just concentrate and look at how we fight. Oh, yes. I will also explain the traits the servants have."

"Traits?" There was more to this 'servant' thing?

"I've already explained the relationships between Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels." Indeed you did. "In the prolonged war, no matter which side, they were all exhausted. On the Devils' side, we lost a lot of pure blood and we couldn't rally the armed forces. So we started a process to train a few elites called [Evil Pieces]."

Ooh. Sounds cool. "What are these [Evil Pieces]?"

"Shirou, do you know what chess is?" Buchou asked me. I nodded in response.

"Yeah. It's kinda similar to shogi. Back when I was little and it was raining outside with nothing to do, Mako-nee would bring out this old chessboard and we'd play until the rain went away. She taught me all about the game." I then realize I was off-track with my reminiscing. I shook my head. "Anyway, there are six different types of pieces. There's the [King] who's like the big boss. If your [King] got taken out, you lost the game, so it was important above all else to keep the [King] safe. The other pieces are [Queen], [Knight], [Rook], [Bishop] and [Pawn]. Each piece has its own individual trait and use in chess." Buchou nodded, apparently pleased that I knew as much as I did about the game.

"Devils with a Peerage decided to use the traits of the human's game to their Servant Devils. It was also sarcasm, because most of the servants are Devils that were reincarnated from humans. Since then, Chess became a popular game in the world of the Devils. Since they couldn't make an army, they decided to have a small number of Devils and give them enormous powers. This system was made in the past few hundred years, and this unexpectedly became popular amongst Devils with a peerage." Made sense. Even if you couldn't raise a whole army of soldiers, it didn't matter as long as you train the soldiers you did have to their fullest. Quality over quantity as I say.

"So the chess rule became pretty popular, didn't it?" This prompted Buchou to continue her explanation.

"They started to compete against each other. For example like, "My Knight is stronger!" or "No, my Rook is stronger!" As a result, high-class Devils started to play a game like that of Chess against each other using their servant Devils. We call it the "Rating Game". This game became very popular amongst the Devils. Now, there are even tournaments for it. The strength of their [Pieces] and also how strong they are in the game affects the Devils' social position and their peerage. There is a thing called [Piece Collect] where they gather humans with talents and make them into their [Pieces]. It's very popular recently. Talented servants become their status."

So it's like any other sport. Your worth is measured by how well you and your team perform. Doing well in the game meant you were doing well as a Devil. So even if I don't get to fight tonight, I will definitely be able to fight strong guys sometime in the future.

"I'm not a matured Devil yet, so I can't participate in the official tournament. Even if I could, there are things that I need to go through, or else I can't play. In short, you and my other servants here won't be participating in a game for a while."

While I was somewhat interested in what these 'things' she had to go through were, it was none of my business. Just as long as it got done and I was able to fight in these Rating Games, I didn't care. "So even 'the Prince' and the others haven't had a chance to take part..."

"Yeah." Kiba answered. I had been so focused on the conversation, I hadn't been paying attention to how far into the house we had come. I was wondering if we were ever going to find this Stray Devil.

It was kinda funny to see how wrong my previous thoughts of Devils were. Rather than red demon people torturing evil souls in Hell in the pits of their own si-Wow my imagination is dark. I gotta get that checked.

But that left one question. "So we have these [Evil Pieces] that turn us into Devils, so what [Piece] am I and what can I do?"

Buchou smiled. "Shirou, you are..." She trailed off and I knew why. The chill in the air had increased as did the the enemy's killing intent.

We had found our Stray.

I could feel it approaching us even with my rookie Devil senses.

"I can smell something disgusting. But I can also smell something delicious. Is it sweet? Or is it sour?"

I covered my nose. Damn straight! Something reeks! But somehow I knew this scent.

It was the scent of blood. It was nauseating.

Buchou then announced herself to the source of killing intent. "Stray Devil Vizor, we're here to destroy you!"

I moved to the right to avoid some sort of object that was thrown at me. I was about to look at the guy who threw it at me, but my immediate attention was drawn to the object itself. I was curious and had to see what it was.

I really wish I hadn't.

My eyes widened in shock. It was a corpse! Not even a full one! It was like someone ate half the body but lost interest in the head, leaving the poor bastard's remains laying flat on the ground with his eyes opened.

The stench in the room intensified to the point that I felt like throwing up. I...I never thought I would react in such a way. I had to keep my cool though. The others weren't reacting in such a way so I couldn't show myself to be weaker than them.

Laughter echoed all around us. The sick asshole thought this was funny. He was really pissing me off.

It wasn't normal laughter though. It didn't seem like that of a Devil or a human. More like a monster.

I braced myself as the torso of a topless woman started to come out of the shadows, but it looked like her body was floating. When I got a better look, I saw that her torso was connected to something else.

The next thing I heard was heavy footsteps as if something huge was walking towards us. At first I thought she had some sort of beast hidden behind her. But then her lower half stepped entirely out of the shadows and I realized she WAS the beast.

It was a grotesque being with an unnatural form having a woman's upper body and the lower body of a monster. In both of her hands were weapons like spears. They kinda reminded me of the jousting-type of lances you'd see in medieval-style places. She was HUGE. At the very least 5 meters tall. If she stood on her hind legs, she would probably end up being twice as tall.

So even a beast like her could become a Devil. Well I suppose just because many other species COULD become Devils doesn't mean they should.

"Leaving your master's side and rampaging as you please definitely deserve death. In the name of Duke Gremory, I will gladly eliminate you!" I had to give Buchou some respect. Devil girls have loads more courage than normal girls. Then again, she probably didn't see Vizor as a threat. Size didn't necessarily translate into strength. It just made you a bigger target.

"You are cunning for a little girrrrrrl! I will rip your body, and color it in red just like your haaaaaaair!"

Buchou seemed amused by the Stray Devil's threat. "Grunts sure do speak in a stylish manner. Yuuto!"

"Yes!" I was barely able to catch Kiba as he sprinted ahead at unbelievable speeds. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.

"Shirou, I will continue from the lecture before." I turned to Buchou. If she was this calm, I guess Vizor wasn't a real threat at all. I assumed Buchou was referring to that stuff about [Evil Pieces]. "Yuuto's position is [Knight]. Its trait is speed. Those who become a [Knight] have their speed increased."

I observed it with my own eyes. Kiba had been fast before, but his speed suddenly increased to the point that I couldn't even follow with my eyes. If I tried by following after images, I would just make myself dizzy. Because of this, Kiba had no problem dodging all of Vizor's attacks.

"And Yuuto's ultimate weapon is swords." Kiba stopped and the next moment he was holding a European sword. He took it out of the scabbard, the drawn blade reflecting the light of the moon. The pause in motion didn't last long because Kiba suddenly vanished again.

I only started paying attention the the monster when I heard her screams echo throughout the room. I was just in time to see her severed arms hit the ground, spears and all. The next second, blood spewed from the stumps where Vizor's arms once were.

"This is Yuuto's power. Speed that you can't follow with your eyes, and sword skills of a professional. By combining these two, he becomes the fastest Knight." Kiba stopped right in front of Vizor with his sword at his side. At first I was about to call him out for being an idiot when the enemy was right behind him, but then I saw another figure run up behind him.

"Koneko-chan?!" What was she doing? She was going to get crushed!

"YOU LITTLE BUUUUG!" The Stray screeched as it attempted to stomp on both Kiba and Koneko-chan. I was about to run forward to push the idiots out of the way when Buchou started to speak again.

"Don't worry." She said. "Koneko's role is [Rook]."

I watched in amazement as Koneko's tiny body was able to hold up the beast's giant foot with seemingly little effort.

"Let me guess. The Rooks have insane strength and defense?"

Buchou smiled at my obvious guess. "Exactly. That is the trait of a [Rook]. It's impossible for a Devil with that caliber to stamp on Koneko. It can't crush her."

I found myself smiling with amazement. This was the power of a Devil. IT WAS SO COOL! I could never hope to match such power back when I was a human!

I was further amazed when Koneko lifted up the beast still without showing any strain. "…Fly."

She jumped high and delivered a sharp punch to the monster's stomach, throwing her entire body backwards.

"How can it be...this band of youngsters..." That is usually what a villain says in an anime right before they kick the bucket. Geez. Even Devils were cliche.

"And lastly, Akeno."

"Yes, Buchou. Ara ara, what should I do?" She was...laughing? I sometimes laugh because I'm a bit of a battle maniac, but Akeno-san didn't strike me as that type of person.

She walked over to where the downed Stray had been thrown by Koneko-chan.

"Akeno is a [Queen]. She's the one who is the strongest after me. She is the unbeatable Vice-president of our club who has all the traits of [Pawn], [Knight], [Bishop], and [Rook]." Buchou explained. So that means she's more powerful than the speedy prince and the crazy strong loli?

Akeno-san made a fearless laugh after seeing the monster's gaze directed towards her. "Ara ara, seems like you still have some energy left in you. Then how about this?" Akeno-san raised her hand to the sky.

Then lightning rained down on the Stray Devil. She shrieked in pain as she got a huge electrical shock. She came out badly burnt with smoke coming from her.

How do you like your Stray devil? Burnt or extra crispy? I smiled at my own little mental joke.

I suppose Akeno-san liked hers extra crispy because she called down yet another bolt of electrical power. Even though the monster sounded like it was already dying, it let out another scream of pain. Now I was POSITIVE the Stray was already dying.

Even so, Akeno-san strikes down a third time.

"Ah looks like you can still continue. How long can you keep this up?" I couldn't help but feel that the sexual undertone mixed with her expression meant something.

"Akeno specializes in attacking her opponent with magic power." Buchou explained. "She can use natural elements like lightning, ice, and fire. And most of all, she's really into S&M."

I felt my own face heating up. I swallowed. "That's...that's kinda hot." I admitted. I then heard the others next to me go deadly silent. "Uh...guys?" I turned and sweatdropped as I saw the others slowly scooting away towards the background. "Why are you moving away?"

Kiba waved nervously. "What are you talking about?" I'm talking about the fact that even Buchou is backing away from me.

"Your response just kinda surprised us." Buchou said, slightly more straightforward.

"...Stay away..." Koneko-chan said, much more straightforward as she crossed her arms into an X in my direction.

Why is it it was alright for Akeno to be the Sadist Queen but I couldn't find it hot?

"Oh come on! It's not like I'm asking for anyone to be tied up and whipped!"

I felt a chill as a hand was placed on my shoulder. "Oh? So are you offering then?" I turned in surprise to see Akeno-san smiling, hints of sexual pleasure still on her face.

I slowly slid away from Akeno-san, my hands trying to ward her off. "Sorry. I'm don't quite find it THAT hot. Besides, I'm pretty sure you'd kill me." She fries demons to get off. Like Hell I'd test out a slight S&M fetish with Akeno-san.

Akeno-san winked at me. "It's okay. I can be _very_ gentle with my allies." I felt my face heating up again.

"Uh..." I was saved when Buchou cleared her throat, interrupting this...'thing' that was going on with Akeno-san right now. Akeno-san then put on her usual non-sadist smile and turned to Buchou.

"The last blow belongs to you, Buchou." Akeno-san said as if she hadn't gone total sadist.

Note to self: Watch what I say around Akeno.

Buchou then approached the downed and now badly burned Vizor. "Any last words?"

"Kill...me..." The monster croaked out.

"Then disappear." I was honestly surprised by the cruel reply Buchou gave as well as the coldness in her voice.

I watched as a huge mass of black, demonic energy gathered in Buchou's palm. Buchou released it all in one go, completely annihilating the monster's entire body.

I could tell because I no longer sense anything...there wasn't a trace left of the Stray Devil once known as Vizor.

So this was the power Devils possessed...

All the coldness and tensity vanished into thin air.

Buchou smiled to everyone. "It's over. Good work everyone."

So the "Stray Devil Hunt" is over then? This is where I start in my pursuit of my dream. I will definitely get stronger.

Strong enough to surpass God Himself! Strong enough to be more powerful than Heaven and Hell combined! That was the promise I made.

Then I remembered something. Everyone here had a position with an [Evil Piece], but Buchou never answered my question from earlier.

"You never did tell me though. What [Piece] am I, Buchou?"

"Ah." Buchou responded with a smile. "I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" Yes. Yes you did. I had an idea on which one I was. I certainly wasn't a [Bishop] because that probably had to do with magic since [Rook] and [Knight] had to do with strength/defense and speed respectively. Since [Queen] was taken by the "Sadist Queen" Akeno-san, that left three pieces that I could possibly be: [Pawn], [Rook], or [Knight].

"Your role is a [Pawn]."

Buchou's response was brief and to the point.

"Cool." I replied with a smile on my face. Apparently, Buchou was a bit surprised by my response. Then again, any other guy would initially act depressed or angry about being a [Pawn]. "I feel glad that I'm a [Pawn]. They may be foot soldiers but they have the most potential too. A [Pawn] can turn a game completely around by promoting to a much better piece, even a [Queen]." I clenched my fist in front of me. "So by becoming a [Pawn], I have the most potential out of everyone here. Potential is what makes a [Pawn] both powerful and unique."

Buchou seemed both relieved and happy at my explanation. "I couldn't have put it any better myself, Shirou."

"Shall we head back?"

Buchou nodded. And then we left.

* * *

_Later..._

I really wish my night had ended there so I could go home and catch some Z's, but Buchou stopped me.

_"Shirou, I know this may be a bit inconvenient right now, but you're currently being asked for by a client. I would normally just let it wait until later, but this client has been trying to come into contact for quite a bit. It would be best for you to complete the contract now then later."_

That was Buchou's explanation shortly before I ended up going through the magic circle back at the ORC club house.

When the light faded from my eyes, I was in an alleyway standing beside a familiar Onee-sama.

"Kalawarner?"

The beautiful Onee-sama smiled at me. "Did you really never expect to see me again?"

"Well I was busy with some stuff." Considering she was a human, I couldn't very well explain I had just seen four other people around my age reduce a centaur-creature to dust. I might come across as weird. "But it is good to see you again. What's the request this time?" At the back of my mind, I felt like I was forgetting something. Something important...

Kalawarner clasped her hands together. "Buy a girl a drink?"

I smiled right back at her. "Well if it's this pretty girl, then it's no problem." I was still uncertain if we were flirting or not.

* * *

We ended up going to this bar nearby the alley Kalawarner summoned me in.

Me and Kalawarner took seats at the counter. It wasn't one of those age-restricted kind of bars because their main product wasn't alcohol. It was more of a restaurant than a bar really. It must've been a slow night though because other than the guy behind the counter, it was just me and Kalawarner.

So while Kalawarner was drinking a glass of some sort of alcohol, I was drinking something sweet and fruity. I had no idea what it was, but Kalawarner said it was non-alcoholic.

We tried small talk, Kalawarner speaking about a few small details about whatever job she had. She said they got a new employee at her workplace, but she didn't really specify much about the girl. The fact she was a girl was all that I could get out of Kalawarner. I, in turn, told Kalawarner a bit about my school life including my many perverted friends and associates (although I was still reluctant to refer to Matsuda and Motohama as such). Kalawarner laughed a bit as I described the many perverted escapades Matsuda and Motohama get into and how they often get beat by the girls they were perving on.

We sometimes exchanged comments or compliments that came off as flirtatious (usually on Kalawarner's part), but...

Despite the casual small talk, I could tell something was up. Kalawarner seemed much more quiet than in our previous meeting. Like something was on her mind.

"So...something bugging you?" I finally asked after thirty minutes. Kalawarner tensed at my question.

"W-What are you talking about?" She didn't wait for me to respond before grabbing her drink and downing it in one go. She let out a sigh of contentment, a light blush on her face showing that the inebriation was starting to take effect. "I down't know what yer talkin bout, Shiroooou..." She then slammed her hand onto the counter. "Barkeep! Nuther drink on thish guy right heeere!" Kalawarner gestured towards me and I was a little surprised at how easily she had started to get drunk. Her words were already slurred.

I frowned. "Is it so bad that you have to avoid the question? I mean, we don't really know each other that well, but I am your summoned Devil so I will take any secret with me to the grave if that's what you're worried about." Now I was REALLY curious about what Kalawarner was upset about.

A sad and worried expression appeared on Kalawarner's still inebriated face. "I..."

The guy behind the counter brought Kalawarner another drink that she quickly grabbed and downed in a time less than or equal to the first. She then slammed the glass onto the counter. "More more! Gimme more erf dat there stuff!" Dear Maou she cannot handle her alcohol.

My sweat began to roll down the sides of my face. "Umm..." Kalawarner didn't hesitate before downing that one as well.

"Sweeteey lovely drinky winky~! Fill mee up muster drinky~!" And now she was singing apparently. She called for more drinks before I could even open my mouth. Now I was beginning to feel worried. Not only for Kalawarner but for my wallet. Even with my surplus of money, if Kalawarner kept drinking like this, I would be out of cash before the night was over.

Thankfully, the barkeep cut Kalawarner off after her eighth or ninth drink. By then, she was incredibly unsteady on her feet. I paid for the drinks that Kalawarner had and then we left. I wouldn't be able to just leave Kalawarner on her own in good conscience so I ended up deciding to carry her home...The things I do for my conscience.

_"What are you doing?!"_ My Mini-Devil Shirou screamed from my shoulder._ "Drunk girl with no balance?! It's easy pi-!" _I then took that opportunity to flick my Mini-Devil Shirou from my shoulder and off to who-cares-where.

That's the end of that.

While Kalawarner was much lighter than she looks, she was still a bit heavy. Not in a bad way. Just what you'd expect from another human being. I had to reach into her pocket to get her address. It was somewhat uncomfortable when Kalawarner leaned on me and started snuggling against my side. She wrapped her arms around me and I felt this position would be horribly misleading to any random observer.

I did my best to ignore my extremely burning face until we reached Kalawarner's door. She was still in an inebriated daze, so I decided to fish her keys from her pockets and help her inside as well.

Her house was still as neat and clean as it was the first time I got summoned there. It was like she never really lived there. I tried turning on a light, but apparently Kalawarner forgot to pay the utilities or something because none of the lights would turn on. It was either she didn't pay or somehow all of the light bulbs in her house were dead at the same time.

I planned on turning the lights on so Kalawarner wouldn't stumble around in the dark if she snapped out of her drunken stupor, but I guess that was no longer an option. I didn't need lights cos I had a Devil's Night Vision.

Hooray for Night Vision!

Rather than carry Kalawarner all the way upstairs to her room, I settled for the couch in the nice little living room. I dragged the incredibly drunk woman beside me, trying not to drop her. I was doing my best to hurry that I didn't notice the carpet that I could trip over until it was too late.

My foot got caught on the edge of the carpet and almost completely fell forward. That wasn't the...er...'bad' part.

For a moment, I had accidentally let go of Kalawarner and almost let her drop to the floor. Out of reflex, I lunged forward to catch her, grabbing her wherever...

That 'wherever' happened to be both large and extremely soft.

Kalawarner let out a soft moan in her drunken state as I groped her beautifully developed oppai. It was an accident, but I felt a brief moment of bliss, basking in the soft glory that were Kalawarner's breasts. In my daze, I somehow ended up giving it another squeeze, eliciting a squeak from Kalawarner that could only be described as 'cute'.

I wonder what would happen if I-NO! Baaaaad Shirou! Don't grope the nice drunk lady! You do NOT stoop to that level! No matter how soft she is, you don't do that kind of thing without permission!...but they were just so so-NO! Bad!

Before I could even consider giving into temptation, I quickly laid Kalawarner onto the couch so she wasn't hanging off it and so she wouldn't roll off...well. I got it on the second try. The first time she DID roll off, but when I caught her, I had another 'happy accident'.

I sighed. This job was turning out to be stressful in the most unique of ways. I was about to turn around and head back to the clubhouse via magic circle or walking when-

"Thanks for carrying me all the way home." I froze and turned slowly on my heels to face the very awake and not-very inebriated Kalawarner, sitting up on the couch and brushing her hair out of her face.

I jumped, shocked by her sudden not-drunkness. "Oh dear Maou, you were completely sober the entire time, weren't you?" I felt my face heat up as I remembered my happy accidents. For a brief moment, I thought I was going to be murdered then and there.

"Not entirely." Kalawarner admitted. "My alcohol tolerance is much higher than normal people. What I drank only gave me a light buzz. Most of that was just an act."

"Ah." Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait. If you weren't drunk, WHY THE HELL DID I HAVE TO CARRY YOU HOME?! And why didn't you react when I...er...you know...I'm sorry about that though."

Kalawarner smiled slightly, suppressing a laugh. "How about we call it even?" I nodded, sighing a bit from relief. I then felt a strange atmosphere surround Kalawarner. It was the same one that I had felt back in the bar before Kalawarner had faked being drunk...only sadder.

"Why WERE you faking being drunk anyway?" I asked, still curious as to what was bothering my client.

Kalawarner turned her gaze downward, hiding her eyes from me. "The reason I've been off all evening was because...I was trying to think of a way to say goodbye."

I stared.

Goodbye? What does she mean by that?

I was answered a second later when Kalawarner was standing. I was shocked when I saw two wings sprout from her back. Wings that bore nothing but painful (physically) memories. Her wings were back and feathery much like those of a certain bitch whose ass I still wouldn't mind kicking.

I could feel drops of sweat roll down the back of my neck as I made a horrible realization.

It was certain when a violet spear of light materialized in Kalawarner's hand.

My client is a Fallen Angel. She is...my enemy?

"I'm sorry." Unlike Yuuma's mocking words and insults, Kalawarner's words were absolutely genuine. She felt sad about what she was planning on doing. "But I have to kill you now."

"Why?"

It was a fair question.

Kalawarner's minor killing intent was interrupted in the face of my question. She stared at me in what was clearly confusion. "...What?"

"Why do you have to kill me?"

"Because I'll have to do it someday anyway."

"Why?" I asked again.

"B-Because we're enemies! I'm a Fallen Angel and you're a Devil!"

"And? Do you have any real reason to kill me?"

Kalawarner was clearly starting to get annoyed. "We are different. If I don't kill you now, you will someday take away someone important to me. That's how it will always be. Fallen Angels, Devils, and Angels are not meant to befriend one another. They will always be at each others throats."

I shrugged. "Not really. Personally, I'm not much for killing. I'd like to kickYuuma's ass for stabbing me in the chest, but I have nothing against Fallen Angels personally. I find you to be the same sexy Onee-sama as you were before. Only difference now: you have wings." Hey, if she was going to kill me anyways, I might as well be honest. I WOULD fight back, but I didn't feel comfortable about the thought of having to fight her. Fighting Onee-sama's leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I looked back to Kalawarner to see her face red with what may have been a mix of anger and embarrassment. "How can you say that when you were killed by a Fallen Angel yourself?!"

"Correction: I was killed by YUUMA who just happened to be a Fallen Angel. If she were a Devil or an Angel, I wouldn't feel any different. It's not like the Fallen Angel race as a whole conspired to kill me..." I paused for a moment. "They didn't, right?" I wasn't sure if I would feel flattered or pissed if a whole race had to conspire together to kill me.

Despite still trying to be serious and angry, Kalawarner suppressed a giggle at my question which may or may not have been a joke or not. "No. I assure you we did not. It wasn't 'conspiring' so much as sudden orders."

"Orders?"

Kalawarner nodded. What little killing intent she had before had faded into our conversation. Now it was just guilt. "A few months ago, we detected the presence of a particular Sacred Gear. For some reason, Azazel-sama took a special interest in this Sacred Gear as well as its owner:You, Fujimura Shirou, were our target."

"I see." I closed my eyes thinking. So I had been observed for several months now and I never even noticed. It must've been because my human senses were far more inferior to those of a Devil's. That's probably why I never saw nor heard any of them prior to Yuuma killing me...but I was still confused...

Kalawarner took that moment to continue speaking. "It was only several weeks ago that we received new orders: The one known as Fujimura Shirou was to be executed. You were perceived as a threat and were deemed too dangerous to allow to survive. That's why we sent Raynare to perform the deed. She toyed with you to lower your guard and killed you."

I blinked in confusion. "'Raynare'?" Kalawarner then realized she had forgotten something as she sat back down on the couch, folding her raven-like wings behind her.

"Ah. That's right. You probably know her better as Yuuma Amano. An alias we created for her to appear as a human."

So. This 'Raynare' is Yuuma. Yuuma is Raynare. Whoever she is, I'm going to kick her ass.

Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait. So this 'Azazel' guy...he orders you to watch me and then a few months later just has me executed? Isn't that a bit harsh and sudden? I mean, Hell. If given enough incentive, I could've been working for you guys instead of the Devils if I ever managed to achieve the use of my Sacred Gear naturally."

Kalawarner considered this. "I admit it is a bit unusual for Azazel-sama, but his orders are absolute."

I nodded. "Yeah. I get you guys had to listen to your boss, but I'm still gonna kick Raynare's ass next time I see her..." Kalawarner stared at me. "...I can't stand such a defeat. Next time, I'll definitely win." I frowned. "But man, Azazel sounds like a total prick." I could tell immediately that I said something bad.

"Don't you dare badmouth Azazel-sama!" Kalawarner shouted angrily. "He's the Governor of the Fallen Angels, our leader!" I raised my hands in surrender, taking a few steps back.

"OK. OK. I just think it's a little BS how he ordered me to be killed for no real reason." I mean, I'm glad that I can fight strong guys as a Devil, but getting killed hurt like Hell! Even if it wasn't lethal, getting a hole in the chest tends to make you feel like shit.

Kalawarner's expression became a sad confusion. "Azazel-sama was unusually cold about the execution order. When Kokabiel-sama told us about it, I could hardly believe it came from Azaz-"

"Wait wait wait!" I interrupted. Something about this seems kinda fishy. "I thought Azazel was your big boss guy."

Kalawarner nodded. "Azazel-sama is the leader of the Fallen Angels, but there are others under him. Kokabiel-sama is still very high up. A much higher rank than those of us dispatched to this town. Azazel-sama was the one who gave us our initial orders, but Kokabiel-sama was the one who informed us of the change." Something about that definitely stinks of bullshit.

"Doesn't that seem kind of suspicious?" I asked. Kalawarner raised an eyebrow at my question. "I mean...if killing me isn't an order that Azazel would normally send out, isn't it just a bit suspicious that this Kokabiel guy was the one who carried the new orders to you rather than Azazel doing that?" I can be a thinker when I want to be, but my head's starting to hurt now. Kalawarner's expression became pensive, as if thinking about my words.

"It's...not my place to question our orders. Only to follow them." But it was obvious that Kalawarner WAS thinking it over. However, back to the main issue at the present here...

"So what now?" I asked. "I mean...are you still going through with that whole 'killing me again' thing?."

Kalawarner paused for a moment. "Our orders were to kill you...said orders were fulfilled by Raynare when she pierced your heart, killing you for several seconds. And now that you are a servant of the Gremory house, any hostile actions would result in terrible consequences."

"Wait a minute..." I interrupted. "...where was that reasoning back when you had a light spear at my throat?!"

Kalawarner looked away. "I...I just wanted a reason...A reason to hate or attack you, but...you're too much of a good person. A bit of a pervert judging from the way you were groping me earlier," She stopped to smile at my embarrassed/angry look, "but a good person nonetheless...I didn't want to kill such a person without some kind of reason. I didn't want to get attached either..."

"This war between the three factions...you know it's over, right?"

"Hm?" Kalawarner cocked her head sideways.

"There's no rule saying we have to hate each other or have to kill one another." It was a fair statement. "If we want to hang out, there shouldn't be any real problem with that. Not like we're plotting to destroy the planet or whatever." I then offered my hand to Kalawarner. "After all, I am contractually obligated to fulfill any request, right? And your order to watch me was never rescinded, right?"

The Fallen Angel Onee-sama quickly caught on to what I was getting at. "Indeed. So if my observing you involved summoning a Devil and doing a variety of things, then it can't be helped." She stood up from the couch and bowed. "As you technically just met the real me, I should introduce myself. I am Kalawarner. I am also a Fallen Angel. Please take care of me~!" The way she ended that sounded kinda cute.

I grinned in response to Kalawarner's "introduction". "Well, I suppose I should introduce myself as well." I jabbed a thumb at myself. "My name's Shirou Fujimura and I'm a Devil!"

And that is how I, a Devil serving Rias Gremory, created a bond with Kalawarner, a Fallen Angel.

* * *

**Kalawarner's POV...**

I don't really know how or why it happened, but I somehow became friends with a Devil.

Just saying it aloud sounds strange to me. A boy who should be my enemy is someone who I really enjoy being around.

I-It's not like I'm attracted to him or anything! I-I just find him to be fun to hang around!

Still...it was like he was a whole different person. I had fully expected him to start swinging his fists the moment I showed my light spear, but Shirou was surprisingly calm...He seemed so much different. Before, when he was in public, I could always sense a raging flame emanating from his soul. And when it was just the two of us alone, there was no sign of that flame. Instead there had been a much calmer flame. Warm and embracing in a way...

I couldn't quite explain it in words.

THUMP THUMP

My heart was beating irregularly at the thought of Shirou...It was a familiar warm feeling that I had long associated with pain and rejection...God I hope it's not what I think it is. I can't...not after only two meetings!...I don't even know why I told him about being a Fallen Angel! I could've killed him or-No. The feeling in my chest wouldn't have let me. I'm not sure what I initially intended to do really. Just keeping who I was from him made me feel sick inside.

...speaking of our conversation, my mind kept wandering back to something Shirou said:

_"I mean...if killing me isn't an order that Azazel would normally send out, isn't it just a bit suspicious that this Kokabiel guy was the one who carried the new orders to you rather than Azazel doing that?"_

Even when I tried sleeping to rid myself of my emotional exhaustion, my mind wouldn't stop replaying those words.

Come to think of it...Why WAS Shirou designated to be killed? He had shown no open hostility towards anyone but the delinquents who hassled him everyday. If Shirou had been that dangerous, why wouldn't Azazel-sama take more precautionary measures against such a threat?...He would've at least warned up personally...yet Kokabiel-sama was the one who delivered the message...

Damn. Now I was seriously thinking about it...

I quickly ran out of the room to alleviate these thoughts in my head, wanting to make a single call to end these doubts once and for all...

**And with that, I am finished! It's been forever, but I finally got this shite finished! Hooray~! So yeah...I know that last part seemed a little rush, but I wouldn't have had another chance to do it later. It was either now or never and completely destroy the plot I had planned. So yeah. With that, this chapter is finished~!**

**Thanks for the reads and reviews~!**

**Bye-Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5: Exorcist

**OK. I am VERY sorry for all of the time away from the writing and stuff...but I didn't have internet for a while and stuff...please forgive me. Anyway, I apologize if some people were dissatisfied with that last scene in the previous chapter, but I had to do it. If I didn't do it then, I couldn't do it later and that scene was incredibly important to my grand master plan! Anywho, ON WITH THE STORY~!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but OC's!**

**Chapter 5:**

**Exorcist**

"Makotoooooo-HAMMER!"

I was woken up when I felt the full force of a heavy punch slam into my gut, knocking the wind out of me in one go. There may have been a little blood mixed in there, but I was in too much pain to notice.

It hurt like HELL!

I shot upright from my bed, clutching my incredibly pained stomach. I turned and glared at the culprit behind my pain.

"WHAT THE HELL, MAKO-NEE!?" I shouted at my sister. "I mean-"

"Makoto's Divine Punishment!" I then felt a hand smack me across my face, sending me flying into the wall. When I fell to the ground, I was able to look up and see the Shirou-sized crater that the force of the impact had created. My head felt like someone had split it open with an axe, no doubt from the injuries I was just inflicted.

I glared at Makoto-neesan. "What was that one for?!"

Mako-nee glared down at me and I immediately froze. This was one of those moments when I have to shut up, speaking at the risk of dismemberment.

"What the Hell were you doing?!" She asked, furious. "You think I just wouldn't notice how you didn't return until 3:00 A.M. Last night...this morning...YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! You are in BIG trouble, Shirou!"

What?...Then again, I guess even Buchou's hypnosis has its limits. Nobody would miss their son or brother still missing by 3 in the morning. All of the late night meetings with the Occult Research Club could be overlooked, but I was always home by around midnight. Then again, Mako-nee always was perceptive. Maybe she just saw through the hypnosis enough to notice my absence...there were so many theories and possibilities, but I chose to focus on my Onee-sama.

I scratched my head. "Geez. It's not that big of a deal. Just..." I then felt myself doze off a bit. I was then hit on the head by Mako-nee's fist. "Cut that out already!" She was starting off to be a bitch this morning. What bug crawled up her ass?

"It IS a big deal, Baka-otouto!" Makoto placed her hands on her hips, her aura of annoyance and possible anger increasing. "Do you know what it's like to come home after work and realize you have yet to return home, having NO IDEA where the Hell you are or whether or not you're in danger?! DO YOU!?"

It was then that I realized Mako-nee's voice held no anger.

She sighed, her expression turning into a worried one. "Baka...idiot...You at least have to warn me next time you plan on staying out that late. I almost had a heart attack when I came home and you were missing."

She was...worried about me? Well...I suppose that I don't know what Makoto's thinking all the time. She's always so strong and I never really thought she would ever be seriously worried about me. I never really knew what she thinks actually...

"Sorry..." Why did I say that?

Even Mako-nee was surprised by my apology. She was rendered speechless for a moment...I didn't really flat-out apologize often. I would sometimes reconcile with people after arguments and it would be assumed and known by both parties that I was sorry, but I don't often use the word, 'Sorry', itself...not in a genuine way anyway.

It might've been because my mind was elsewhere. I was still thinking about the other day. That Sister, Asia, and the Fallen Angel who used my services as a Devil and who now considers me a friend, Kalawarner.

The words of both Kalawarner and Buchou bothered me...

Both have said that we and the other factions are enemies and have to fight and hate one another because of a war that happened something like centuries ago (I never received a straight answer on when it happened exactly), but I can't find the will to hate the people of those factions. Sister Asia was a good girl and Kalawarner was fun to be around. Raynare's a murderous psycho, but I dislike her because she murdered and humiliated me, not because she's a Fallen Angel.

I can't say I found any sense in their words. I like fighting, but meaningless battles based on pointless hatred did not draw my interest...I just couldn't understand...

"Is something wrong, Shirou?" Makoto had completely calmed down and her tone was now worried to match her expression. She had gone into 'Caring Big Sister' mode. While I find it somewhat annoying, I find it much better than Makoto's 'Blind Murderous Fury' mode...that mode is not pretty.

"No..." Yes. I don't know why I lied. Maybe I didn't want to bother her, but I don't really know.

Mako-nee seemed unconvinced (Did I mention she was incredibly perceptive?). "Well...Can you at least tell me if it has something to do with a fight or something dangerous?"

I carefully thought out my answer. "It doesn't. It's just some personal stuff I'm going through. Nothing bad." It was vague, but it was the truth. I wasn't doing anything dangerous...at the moment. "I wanna figure this stuff out on my own."

Makoto stared for several more seconds before sighing. "Fine. I can't help it if my Baka-otouto wants to handle things on his own."

I gave her a less harsh glare. It was then that I seriously looked at her that I noticed something.

"Did you get younger?"

Makoto seemed to tense, but I couldn't really tell. "What?"

It was something that gradually became clearer and clearer. "I mean, you just seem different. Younger somehow." I'm not joking. Before, she looked like an older woman who could pass off as a woman in her early to mid-thirties, but now she kinda seemed like a girl just out of college. Her eyes seemed more youthful and held more light in them. Her body seemed much more well-shaped than before...it's creepy when I say it out loud...what was even creepier was the fact that I noticed her breasts seemed slightly larger than they were before. Large enough to give Buchou, Akeno-san, and Kalawarner all a run for their money.

I wanted to bash my head against the wall for noticing such a thing with my own Onee-sama, but oppai were oppai after was something that couldn't help but be noticed.

I blushed with embarrassment, looking away. "You just looked better somehow."

Makoto's cheeks pinked slightly with her own playful embarrassment. "Well you could say that I've had a _ritual_ done. Just something I do every now and then..." She smiled. Apparently she really liked being complimented.

….That...that's kinda unsettling. What did she mean by 'ritual'?

"Well, it must've taken helluva lot of work to get someone like you to look hot." I said, knowing what the consequences would be.

A vein popped out on Mako-nee's forehead.

A second later, I was once again smashed into the wall, in unbelievable pain. Makoto was glaring at me from the doorway, her fist burning from the amount of force she put into her punch.

"Get ready for school, you jerk." She then turned her back to me. In the faintest of whispers, she said, "But thank you for calling me 'hot'." She then walked off, leaving me with a huge welt on my head and a confused expression on my face.

...I hadn't really intended to call her hot, but it was the only word in that attempted insult that could fit how her changed appearance looked. I had to end that conversation before I mentioned Makoto's breasts or something of an equally embarrassing nature.

I quickly got changed into my school uniform and raced out of the house, trying to get that awkward moment out of my head.

* * *

_Later..._

School once again passed in a blur. I didn't pay attention to even half of what the teacher had been talking about. I had been too occupied.

My thoughts from earlier (before my awkward moment with Mako-nee) were still fresh on my mind.

"So you're awake for once."

I turned to my right to see Kiryuu standing beside me, smirking somewhat. I sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Seriously, I was too tired for this right now.

"Well you're usually asleep by this point in the day. What's the special occasion?" Speaking of asleep, I really want to take a nap right now. Maybe I'll just go home and sleep until I gotta go back to the clubhouse tonight for whatever we were doing.

"It's none of your-" I paused mid-sentence. Well I've been thinking about it all day, so I might as well get a thought from someone else. Maybe see whether my thoughts are logical or not. Kiryuu really knew her stuff when she's being serious. She truly was a good person despite being a master of sexual harrassment. "Well, there is something..."

"You get laid?" Kiryuu asked jokingly. "Neh, you would be much more upbeat if you did...unless you got her pregnant?"

I glared. "Shut up." Kiryuu raised her hands in surrender.

"OK, I get it. Serious staaartiiing-Now." Kiryuu's expression became more concerned and serious. "So what's up?"

I scratched my head, carefully thinking through how I was gonna say this without revealing the existence of Devils and Fallen Angels. "Well...OK, so I have this thing...er..." Still thinking... "Got it! So I'm part of this group-"

"Is this a gang? Cos you know Makoto will kill you if you join a gaing."

"No, it's not a gang! Don't interrupt!" I sighed, trying to pick up my train of thought. "So there are these three factions for each of these groups, me being a part of one of them. The members of all three are supposed to be enemies with one another and fight. They aren't in an active war because their groups kinda had their numbers crippled in a previous war."

"You aren't allowed to fight the boss guys and have to fight the grunts?"

"Ye-N-I said not to interrupt!" I shouted. "Anyway, that's not my problem. Even though the other guys are supposed to be my enemies, I kinda...Well I kinda can't find it in myself to hate these two people I've met. They seem like pretty good people who just had pretty shitty luck in life. Of course I'm not telling my boss how I feel because I feel that she is nothing but a spoiled brat and-" I quickly darted my gaze left and right, making sure that Buchou was not here to hear my words. She would probably get pissed and incinerate me or something. I know not to underestimate her now that I've seen a single show of her power. "Anyway...I should hate them, but I don't. I understand that a lot of them might be bad, but not all of them are...is it wrong that I like the two people? What do you think I should do?"

Kiryuu adjusted her glasses, thinking. She finally answered after a few seconds.

"...Do what you want."

Eh? What kind of response was that?

"Well if I honestly said to stay away from them or something like that, would you really listen to me?" She had a point. I probably wouldn't. "Besides, if you say they're good, then I don't see any reason to hate them."

"...Yeah. You're right." I don't know why I was worrying about it in the first place. Just as long as I don't do anything to start a huge incident, I see no reason not to continue my friendship with Kalawarner. Maybe I'd try meeting Sister Asia again...I felt a strange kinship with her that I'd like to explore...Something about that girl...I felt strange around her.

"Shirou. Shirou. Earth to Shirou, do you copy?" I was so deep in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed Kiryuu waving her hand in front of my face. I smacked her hand out of my face.

"You have a point. Besides, just because the boss lady says I have to do something, it doesn't mean I HAVE TO do it...but I still won't tell her about it."

Kiryuu had another smirk on her face. "Aw~. Is the mighty [Demon King of Kuoh] afraid of someone?"

My cheeks turned pink at her accusation. "What?! No way! I'm not afraid of her, but..."

"But what?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't very well tell Kiryuu that Buchou was my 'master' and I had to follow at least some of her orders. That may lead to very bad situations later on. I certainly wasn't afraid of that crimson princess. "Nothing. Never mind."

"But man, the [Demon King of Kuoh] handling two female enemies at once in a forbidden romance...It's so tragic yet romantic at the same time."

I jumped. "H-How did you know they were girls?!" Kiryuu winked.

"I didn't. You just told me. It was a fifty-fifty chance." I then blushed as I realized her previous comment.

"W-Wait a minute! I didn't say anything about 'handling girls'! I don't-!"

Kiryuu adjusted her glasses and a perverted look crossed her face. "You certainly have the 'equipment' to handle two at once. Maybe even three."

I quickly crossed my legs and protected my 'equipment' from her perverse gaze. "Q-Quit it you Pervy Glasses Character!"

"The things girls would do to you if they found out," Kiryuu stuck out her tongue at me.

"Just...Just die, damn you." I found it so hard to take this girl seriously. Even when we were dating, she still did this just to annoy me.

"Awww~! You're cute when you're pouting, Shirou~!"

"S-Shut up! I'm not pouting!" But I was. I wouldn't admit it, but my angry expression looked like a pout with me puffing my cheeks. I clicked my tongue, my face still bright red. "Forget it! I'm going home!" I quickly grabbed my things and ran out the door before my cheerful friend could sexually harass me any further. I met Matsuda and Motohama on the way out, but a quick punch to the back of their heads put an end to any annoyances they could've caused.

Why did my day have to be so embarrassing?

* * *

_Later..._

I was off on a job as usual, on my bike this time. It was dark outside and I had decided to take the long way to the client's house so I would have time to think to myself. I just kept thinking how strange it was that I was actually a Devil now. I know I've been one for a while, but how would anyone else feel if they woke up one morning and learned they were turned into a Devil.

But I'm not complaining. With this Sacred Gear of mine, I'll definitely get stronger and fight stronger guys. I'll leave the other Gremory servants in my dust! I will become the Devil to surpass all Devils!

I eventually arrived in front of the client's house. There was something that bugged me though. Devils can only be noticed during Devil-related activities by people with some kind of supernatural sense or perception or had some kind of greed, but what would happen if a client just summoned me right in front of his family...that would be an awkward situation if they all saw me.

I was about to push on the doorbell when I noticed the client's door was open.

Were they trying to air the place out or something? Regardless, leaving the door open in the middle of the night was a little irresponsible not to mention stupid.

I open the door fully and poked my head inside, looking into my client's house...Nobody was around.

BADUM BADUM BADUM

I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Something...something was definitely wrong. I had a bad feeling all of a sudden.

It was the same feeling as when I entered the house where the Stray Devil, Vizor, hid or when I had approached the church. The feeling that I was walking towards danger. 

A sense of foreboding filled my very being as I walked into my client's house.

It's not breaking and entering since my client technically invited me.

It was dark as I entered. No lights were turned on. There was a staircase, but no lights.

Even though I could still see, the darkness only added to my bad feeling. No wait...there was one room on the first floor with lights on. At the end of the hallway, I could see a faint light.

My uneasiness only increased when I realized I couldn't feel a human presence. None. There was a chance it could be another supernatural being, but then they would've disguised their presence rather than hide it entirely.

Even if they were sleeping, it wouldn't make any sense not to feel anyone's presence.

I didn't take off my shoes as I made my way into the client's house. It may have been rude, but something was definitely wrong.

"Hello?" I called out. "Is anyone there?" I peeked through the door which was opened just a crack. I still couldn't see anyone or anything because the brightness of what may have been candles was blinding me...but I could smell...then my heart stopped entirely. I recognized that horrible smell.

The smell of death, rotting corpses...and blood. A lot of blood.

I quickly opened the door and walked in.

What I saw was a living room with a television, a sofa, a table, and such. It looked like any ordinary living room...

And that was when I finally saw the body.

My eyes widened in absolute horror.

It was hung upside down and nailed to the wall with giant screw into the palms of his hands, his feet, and his torso. The corpse had been cut viciously. Something that looked like a giblet was coming out from the wounds…

From the way they were positioned, they resembled an upside-down cross. They probably never had a chance.

This wasn't murder. It was a torture-filled execution.

The smell of death seemed to enclose around me...its disgusting odor was horriying...My body acted on its own in response to this moment.

I threw up. I emptied all of the contents of my stomach out onto the ground. It was bad enough when I saw the bodies of Vizor's victims, but this...this made her victims' deaths look clean by comparison.

The scent of death refused to fade away as I continued staring at the corpse in horror. I wanted to look away, but my eyes were glued to the terrifying sight.

What was left of the guy's face had an expression of absolute pain and horror etched into it. I couldn't help but wonder how long he suffered before death finally gave him a release from his pain.

Whoever did this was not human.

WHAT SANE PERSON COULD KILL SOMEBODY LIKE THIS?!

I covered my mouth to keep from throwing up again.

I could see blood pooled on the ground below the poor bastard, more of it leaking from his corpse. I also noticed writing on the wall...In the victim's own blood.

"Wha-What...WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?"

I was shocked when I got a response.

"It's written as "Punishment for those who did bad deeds!". I just borrowed the sentence from someone important." said the voice of a man behind me.

Fuck! It never occurred to me that the killer could still be here. It was a stupid mistake.

I turned around to see a man with white hair. He was clearly a foreigner but still looked like he could still possibly be in his teens. He was dressed as a priest and may have qualified as a bishounen if not for the incredibly evil-seeming smile on his face when he saw me.

"Hmm hmm. Well, well, if it isn't a Devil-kun!" He sounded disturbingly happy even though there was a corpse hanging on the wall beside us.

I immediately figured out what this guy was: An exorcist.

Friendly people from the church like Asia didn't seem to be a threat, but this was an exorcist. He is an enemy for sure. His power is supported by the prayer of God. He's a priest so he's related to the church. He even knew I was a Devil...In the worst-case scenario, I may have to fight this guy.

"I'm a priest~ A boy priest~ I cut down devil-like people~, and I laugh at them~ I cut the head of you Devils, and receive my meal~ "

He...He was singing...W-What...What the fuck is wrong with this guy?!

"My name is Freed Zelzan. I belong to a certain Exorcism organisation. Ah, just because I introduced myself doesn't mean you have to. I don't want to remember your name in my memory, so please don't. It's okay, since you are going to die soon. I will make sure of it. It might hurt at first, but later you will feel so good that you will cry. Now let's open the new door _-ZE_!"

He never gave me the chance to get a word in. He was unique, I'd give him that...Wait.

What was that about me dying now? Ah yes. He's an exorcist so of course he's going to try and kill me, a Devil.

But I had another question on my mind. My previous horror was replaced by a boiling anger. He was the only other person around...so I had to know.

I clenched my fists at my sides. "Tell me...were you the one who did this? Were you the one who murdered this guy here?"

The exorcist nodded cheerfully. "Yes, yes. I killed him. Because~, he was a regular criminal who has been summoning Devils, so I had to kill him."

He didn't even try to excuse himself. He showed no remorse for taking a man's life. A man who had hopes and dreams, wishes for the future.

"Huh? Are you shocked? Aren't you running away? That's weird? Really Weird. I mean humans who make a pact with Devils are scum. Scum indeed. Can't you understand that? No? Is that so? Well you are a scum Devil after all."

Hi, Pot. My name's Kettle. Have we met?

This guy was a murdering psychopath and he's calling ME scum?!

My rage continued boiling deep inside me.

"You sick, sadistic fucker! How can you kill another human being so easily?!" I felt so disgusted. "Aren't Exorcists only supposed to kill Devils?!"

"Haaaaa? What the fuck is that? A mere Devil like you is lecturing me?" The Exorcist asked in a mocking tone. "Hahaha! I will laugh at this. You probably could get a reward for being funny. Okay then, listen carefully you shitty Devil-"

"Who the Hell are you calling a shitty Devil, you shitty priest!?"

The Exorcist blinked at my comeback, as if he expected me to wait while he finished his rant. "Oh ho! The shitty Devil before me has a pair of his own now, doesn't he?!" He said this with his previous sadistic grin. "The last few I killed begged for their lives the moment they met me. No fun whatsoever! You at least have a mouth on you!"

I stared. I then realized that this man had to have killed other Devils before. I pictured people like Kiba, Akeno, and Koneko being cut down by this man who held no remorse. That pissed me off even further. Sure I wasn't too buddy-buddy with them, but my fellow servants weren't bad people. I wouldn't wish such a death upon my worst enemy.

The exorcist then shook his head. "Anyway~, as I was saying-"

It was at that point that my fist met his face, knocking him backward.

The shitty priest regained his balance and drew a bladeless sword and a gun. He looked like he was trying to decide whether he was pissed for being punched or excited to be allowed to cut me into little Devil pieces.

I glared at him. "I don't want to hear another damn word out of your rotten mouth, you shitty priest! I don't give a fuck if you're supposed to be a servant of God or whatever! You won't get any mercy here because I'm sending you straight to Hell, you fucking psycho!"

I wasn't sure whether or not I felt justified in murdering this depraved bastard, but I couldn't stand to hear him talk anymore...OK, so maybe I wouldn't kill him, but I was certainly going to make him hurt like Hell.

"Ah that's right. I don't know why I'm wasting my time speaking to a Devil I'm about to kill." He shrugged to himself. A strange sound vibrated in the air and the sword that was only a handle before somehow turned into a type of beam saber like what a Gundam would wield. "You kind of irritate me, so can I cut you? Can I shoot you? Is it OK? Okay then. Now I'm going to stab your heart with this _blade of light_, and I'm going to blow your head with this cool looking gun! Man, I'm seriously going to fall in love!"

What the fu-

I didn't get to finish that thought because the shitty priest started to sprint towards me. He slashed at me. I leaned right and dodged his blade by an inch. I quickly rushed forward and grabbed the arm holding his sword to keep him from moving it as I brought my other fist around, slamming it right into the side of his face again. I jumped backwards just in time to avoid a bullet shot at my leg. It had to have been a bullet of light, too, considering this guy was an exorcist. A bullet that could harm a Devil...To a Devil, light is poisonous. Once hit, the pain goes through your entire body.

Thank Maou-sama for a Devil's enhanced reflexes and instincts.

It was still close though. If I had been a second slower, I would've been shot in the leg and the battle would be over. For people like me against an opponent with weapons, it's important that you never lose your mobility.

"I'm impressed you've lasted this long without getting hit, but you are seriously annoying me, so could you die now?"

Wait...I WASN'T weaponless...I had one weapon left.

I raised my left arm. "SACRED GEAR!" It was the only name I knew it by, so it was all that I could call it.

There was a brief flash of light as a familiar red cloth appeared around my arm with a green gem in the back of my hand.

"Oh! So this Devil-kun is also a possessor of Sacred Gear~! Now I REALLY want to kill you! Can I pretty please stab you and fill you with bullets~?!" He sounded as if just saying 'please' would make me say yes to letting him kill me.

I glared at him. "First of all: No to that last question. Second: This is MY Sacred Gear. I may not know its name, but I'm sure as Hell that I can still use it to kick your ass!" I felt strange with my Sacred Gear active. It was a strange sensation emanating from my left arm. It was like the Sacred Gear was nibbling on my energy.

I didn't have time to focus on that because the shitty priest was charging again. He swung his light sword at me, giving me little time to dodge. I managed to do so, but I cringed as the blade made a shallow cut at my side. I spun on my heels as did Freed in order to exchange more blows. He tried swinging again, but I dodged the worst part of the blade which barely missed cutting off my face, just scratching it. It still hurt more than it should have though.

That must've been the power of a light weapon. It hurt a bit more now that I've become a Devil but it certainly didn't hurt as much as being run through by a spear of light. On the bright side, he didn't come out unscathed either.

As we turned around, I feinted a blow to his face before throwing the real blow towards his stomach with my left fist, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying backwards into a wall, breaking a huge hole in it.

I stared and then turned my gaze down to my left arm. I blinked.

Is that the power of my Sacred Gear? I never could have hit that hard as a human.

Freed stumbled out of the rubble of the destroyed wall with his expression becoming more pissed off. I had apparently punched him hard enough that blood was dripping from the front of his forehead, perhaps having been cut up by the debris. His uniform was much more torn than it was before. "Damn...this shitty Devil is really pissing me off. Oh! But it appears I got him too!"

I then felt a sudden pain in my right shoulder and something warm flowing down my shoulder and torso. I groaned as I pressed my hand against the wound to stifle the bleeding. It hurt a lot more than the sword wounds because it was a clear hit.

Damn! I was an idiot. I hadn't kept an eye on his other hand that held the gun. He must've shot me when I punched him in the stomach.

I stared at my left arm which held my Sacred Gear. I could still feel it eating bits of me energy. Maybe it was my energy powering it that allowed me to punch so hard. What would happen if I gave it a bit more...

I flinched as I focused my mind on feeding energy to my Sacred Gear. It ate away at my power happily. I could feel a strange aura surround my Sacred Gear.

"Die, die, Devil! Die Devil! Turn to dust and disappear! This is all for my entertainment!" Freed's sadistic grin grew once more as he moved quickly yet again. I had been to focused on my Sacred Gear that I had once again stopped paying attention. He was too close for me to dodge and I instinctively raised my left arm to defend. I may lose an arm, but it was better than dying.

I was surprised when his sword slammed against my arm without cutting all the way through.

Even against a regular metal sword, that light sword would probably have cut all the way through.

With the power of my Sacred Gear and it's aura, my arm must've become tough enough to defend against his strike.

I wonder...

"Damn! Why can't I just cut through this shitty Devil?!" Freed showed great anger at not being able to cut through my arm with his sword. I had to admit I felt a little happy seeing him so pissed off.

I gave a quick push forward, knocking Freed off balance long enough for me to disengage. My wounds were seriously beginning to bleed now. I was going to run, but I had to find a way to beat this guy. He certainly wasn't called an Exorcist for nothing. He was definitely stronger than the average human. My normal street brawling-style moves would never have worked on this guy without my Devil abilities...as annoying as it is to admit.

In hindsight, disengaging was not a very good idea against a guy with a gun.

I felt a second bullet go into my right shoulder and one go into my left leg.

To put the amount of pain I was in into a single word: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

Not once, but TWICE I had been shot in the fucking shoulder! It burned like Hell!

I don't think I've ever been closer to death than I was at that moment (excluding the time where Yuuma/Raynare ACTUALLY killed me).

It was in that one second of distraction that the shitty priest took that moment to kick me right in the stomach, knocking me off my feet and onto the floor. I tried to get up, but Freed planted his foot firmly on my chest, his gun aimed at me.

"I'd like to say it's been fun, but you cost me my good coat, shitty Devil. I will say it'll be fun finally killing you~! Guess you were pretty weak after all~! Please finally die for my entertainment~!"

He laughed like a maniac as he took his sweet time to kill me.

Seriously, if you're holding someone at gunpoint, planning to kill them, just do it. Don't be a dick about it. I was pretty sure I was going to die...AGAIN.

"Please stop!"

My eyes widened at the familiar voice.

….No...it couldn't be!

Both the shitty priest and I turned towards the direction of the voice at the entrance of the room.

Sure enough, the blonde-haired Sister was standing in the doorway, staring in shock as she observed Freed about to finish me off.

"Well if it isn't my assistant, Asia-chan. What happened? Did you finish putting the barrier?"

No...No no no no NO! Out of everyone...It can't be...Asia...you're not really...

I was too shocked to finish a single thought.

If Asia had planned on answering Freed's question, I would never know because it was at that moment that she noticed our deceased 'friend' nailed to the wall.

She screamed in horror.

"Oh yeah, this is your first time seeing a corpse like this, isn't it, Asia-chan?" Freed asked. "Then look carefully. We have the humans that are entranced by a Devil die like this."

"…N-No…" Asia apparently couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was horrified not only by Freed's words but also the corpse present in the room.

This girl...why is she hanging around a sicko like Freed?!

It was then that the Sister noticed me pinned under Freed's foot. Her eyes widened in further shock.

"…Father Freed…that person…"

The shitty priest laughed at her attempted sentence. "Person? No, no. This shit here is a Devil. Hahaha, what are you misunderstanding?"

Asia stared at me. I couldn't bear to look her in those sad eyes of hers.

"Shirou-san...is a Devil...?"

Freed continued to laugh. "What, what!? You guys know each other!? Wow! Now this is a big surprise! Is it the forbidden love between a Devil and a Sister? Seriously!? Are you serious?!"

I frowned. I...I wasn't quite sure what to say. I had to at least explain. "Asia...I-"

Freed lifted his foot up for just a second before slamming it back down right on my shoulder wound. I resisted the urge to scream from the pain, but it felt like someone was driving a hundred nails into my shoulder.

"Shut it, shitty Devil!"

Asia looked like she didn't quite know what to do...

I never intended her to find out. It would've been better if she had never known really. The two of us forever being strangers. Maybe it would've been nice if a single person could've lived in blissful ignorance of my title of the [Demon King of Kuoh]. Maybe someone who saw me as a somewhat helpful high school student. Someone who saw me as NORMAL.

Apparently God wanted to taunt me further, letting me know once again that I would forever be seen as some kind of monster by everyone. That I would only be seen as an outcast.

It didn't help that Asia's eyes made me feel ten times worse. I felt ashamed for the first time for being reborn as a Devil.

Damn it...Damn it all...

"Ahaha! Devils and humans can never coexist!" This shitty priest was SERIOUSLY starting to piss me off. "Especially humans from the Church and the Devils who are the biggest of enemies! Also, we are a group of heretics that were deserted by God. Asia-tan and I are humans who can't survive without the support of Fallen Angels-sama."

….Fallen Angels...? Asia and this shitty priest work for the Fallen Angels...?

It-It didn't make any sense. Priests and nuns are supposed to serve God, aren't they?

"So we're supposed to KILL shitty Devils like this one right here!" He lifted his foot off of me and pulled back his leg before delivering a sharp kick to my side, sending me rolling away from him. "I need to kill this trash here or else I can't finish my job, so here I come. Are you ready?"

I rolled onto my front and managed to push myself onto all fours. If I just laid there, I was going to die for certain.

I felt another sharp pain in my shoulder. My wounds from earlier were acting up. I couldn't move without an immense amount of pain.

I couldn't move as the shitty priest prepared to thrust his light sword into me one final time.

I was certain I was going to die...I wouldn't survive the fatal blow that was directed at me. Even if I could dodge it...I could feel my Sacred Gear draining my power...I overdid it...I used too much energy too fast with what I now call 'Reinforcement'.

Not again...I was brought back to fulfill my dream and just as easily, the world was going to snatch away my life again!

While I was lamenting my imminent demise, I was snapped back to reality when a certain blonde Sister stepped between me and the shitty priest. Her arms were spread as if...

No...is she...protecting me?

The shitty priest put on a stern expression. "…Hey, hey. Are you serious? Asia-tan, do you know what you are doing?"

"…I do. Father Freed, I beg you. Please forgive this person. Please let him go."

I stared, speechless at Asia's words...even though I am a Devil and she is a nun, she was protecting me.

"I can't stand it any more… You can't kill people just because they are entranced to a Devil and you also can't kill Devils. It's wrong!" There was no fear in her words and I was rather impressed.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?" Freed seemed to have an expression that was a mix of annoyance, confusion, and anger. "Don't talk shit, bitch! You also learned that Devils are trashes at the Church! Seriously, is there something wrong with your brain!?"

"There are good people, even among Devils!" Asia defended.

"There aren't, idiooooooot!"

Asia seemed to waver for just a moment, but she came back stronger than before. "T-That's what I thought until recently… But Shirou-san is a good person! That fact doesn't change even after I found out that he is a Devil! Killing someone is unforgivable! This kind of act! God won't allow such acts!"

I couldn't believe it...even after seeing the body and learning that I was a Devil, she was still so strong...I-

Then I saw the shitty priest bringing his gun around.

The shitty priest showed shock as I suddenly appeared in front of Asia, grabbing the arm that had been swinging around to strike Asia. My body had reacted on its own despite the pain I was in.

"Now, _Freed_...Don't you know that it's impolite to hit a lady?" Malice dripped from my words. "I don't have many rules to life, but there is one I hold near and dear to me: Never-and I mean NEVER-hit such a cute girl like Asia!" I then delivered a quick punch to his face with my other free arm, knocking the shitty priest of balance again. This time I left a fairly large bruise on his face.

"Shirou-san..." Asia was still staring at me. Whether it was because of my wounds, because I was a Devil, or because I just clocked the guy she was assisting, I'm not sure.

I had a soft expression on my face. "You saved me, so allow me to repay my debt, Asia...I will protect you. I promise." In some part of my mind, I bet that I looked like a total badass.

But who was I kidding? I was in no shape to do anything. I had a few more punches left in me, but I was drained because of my Sacred Gear and my injuries. There was no way I was going to walk out of this alive.

The shitty priest once again recovered from my punch. "Eh? So the shitty Devil still has some fight left in him? You will die, you know? You will die with a lot of pain? I have no intention of killing you painlessly, okay?"

I figured that was obvious from the body pinned to the wall. I turned back to Asia and said in the sharpest of whispers, "Run! I'll hold him off! Just run!" I didn't wait for a response since Freed certainly wasn't.

"Now then. Let's see if I can make a new record for the smallest minced-meat!"

I'll protect Asia with my very life if needed! I can't afford to back down here!

The shitty priest was about to move forward when the floor began to glow with lights of blue and white.

"What is this?" Freed asked. He was just as surprised as I was. Then the light began to shape into a familiar magic circle.

There was a sudden huge flash of light that blinded all of the occupants of the room.

When the light finally faded, I was surprised to see several familiar people standing in the middle of the magic circle.

"Fujimura-kun, we came to rescue you." Oh shove it with your knightly attitude, Kiba.

"Ara ara. This is awful."

"…Priest."

Well, Akeno-san and Koneko-chan were better. One was an Onee-sama while the other was admittedly cute. I didn't mind much.

I clicked my tongue.

Ah yes, they've come to save Buchou's [Evil Piece] from being destroyed.

The shitty priest then started slashing his sword. "Hyahou! Here's a present for a group of Devils!"

Kiba rushed forward and blocked Freed's sword with his own.

"I'm sorry. He's one of us! We can't let you lay a finger on him!"

"Oh, oh! A mere Devil being concerned about their comrade? What are you guys? Devil Squadron, the Devil Rangers? That's nice. I can feel the heat. I'm getting turned on! So how is it? Are you one the sticking it in, and is he the one bending? So are you guys in that sort of relationship?"

It's amazing how much of a cocky and disturbing bastard this shitty priest is.

Looking down on an opponent is usually a very bad mistake when you don't know their power...but ew.

"…What a vulgar mouth. It's hard to believe you are a priest… Oh, that's why you are a "Stray Exorcist", right?" So Kiba had the same opinion apparently.

As the two spoke, they continued crossing blades. It didn't appear that either was gaining a clear advantage.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm vulgar! Sorry about that! That's because I strayed away! I was kicked out! That's why-screw the Vatican! I'm all right as long as I get to cut Devils whenever I feel like it!"

I really CAN see why this guy was excommunicated...As for Asia, not so much.

Kiba's expression was calm, but his eyes followed his opponent's every move.

The shitty priest seemed to really be enjoying the fight.

"You are the type that is the most hard to deal with. Someone who feels like they are living by cutting Devils…the one who causes the most harm to us."

Definitely. People who kill for fun are nothing but dangerous monsters.

"Haaaaah!? You know, I don't want to be told off by a Devil? I'm trying to live now just like other people! I'm not in a position where pests like you can talk down to me!"

"Even Devils have rules...you shitty priest..." I spat out at him. My blood loss was starting to make me feel dizzy. Not a lethal amount of blood loss yet, but it wasn't pleasant.

"Ah, I figured you'd be dead by now. Ah well~! I can get back to you once I'm done, so wait your turn~!"

"Now, I don't think I enjoy you threatening my adorable junior." Akeno-san said. Her eyes were serious and she showed clear hostility towards the shitty priest.

Freed grinned. "Nice. I like those passionate eyes. Onee-san, you are the best. I can feel your urge of wanting to kill me. Is this love? No. I think it's a killing intent! Superb! This is great! I love the feeling of intending to kill and getting intended to kill!"

"Then disappear."

Well if it isn't the crimson-haired princess herself.

Buchou appeared by my side. "Shirou, I'm sorry. I never expected that a Stray Exorcist will visit this client's house." I would've believed her sincerity if I didn't know she was only there because she didn't want to lose the [Evil Piece] inside of me. "Did you get wounded?"

I laughed, trying to play off my wounds. "Neh. This is just a scratch...well, it's several scratches actually...why is the world spinning?" I was getting more and more dizzy with each passing second.

I'm really not going to hear the end of this when this is over.

But Buchou didn't say anything to me and gave a cold expression to the priest.

"Looks like you have been looking after my cute servant?" I had to admit her voice was kinda unsettling and scary to anyone with a weaker will than me. She's definitely pissed right now.

"Yes, yes. I have been playing around with it. I was planning to cut his body all over but I was interrupted and it finished as a dream."

A second later, a huge area nearby the priest was blown away by Buchou's demonic power.

"I make sure I never forgive those who harm my servants. I especially can't forgive a lowlife like you damaging my personal possessions." Yep. Apparently she really is protective of her possessions. I at least had to admit she could take care of her stuff. That's one positive trait about the princess.

Buchou's killing intent flooded the room. It was much more powerful than anything I could manage at the moment. Perhaps it was more intense because of the demonic power surrounding Buchou.

I then felt the very air freeze.

"They're coming." I said in a soft whisper. I could sense their presences. At least several people were approaching and FAST. I could at least feel that.

Akeno-san noticed as well. "Buchou, there seems to be few Fallen Angels heading to this house. At this rate we will be at a disadvantage."

Fallen Angels...Wait. Would Kalawarner be one of them? Damn. This really isn't good. I can't fight her, but I can't just ignore her because then Buchou and the others would notice...

Buchou gave the shitty priest one final glance and appeared to be thinking.

"…Akeno, we will return to our headquarters once we retrieve Shirou. Prepare for teleportation."

"Yes." Akeno-san then did as instructed and began casting the spell.

….for once, I will refer to this as a tactical retreat rather than just running away.

I turned to Asia and stretched my hand towards her, gesturing her to come. "We're taking Asia with us!"

It was directed towards Buchou and it wasn't a request. I was going to save Asia.

"It's impossible." What? "Only Devils can use the magic-circle to transport. Also, this magic-circle can only teleport me and my servants."

No. No no no NO! I can't just leave her here!

"I won't leave her here!"

"It's not your choice, Shirou!" Buchou raised her voice at me, apparently unhappy with my stubborn resistance.

I tried running towards Asia, but I was held back by Kiba and Koneko-chan.

"Fujimura-kun, we have to retreat for now!"

"...No choice."

I struggled as they forced me back into the magic circle.

"Let me go, you bastards!"

I can't just leave like this!

I turned towards Asia and looked her in the eyes. She...she was smiling. I tried reaching out towards her again, but we were too far apart.

"Asia!"

"Shirou-san, let's meet again." Those were the last words spoken between us in this place.

The magic circle started glowing again a Akeno-san finished casting the teleportation spell.

"Like I will let you escape!" The shitty priest tried slashing at us again, but Koneko-chan threw a couch at him. He cut through it, but it stalled him long enough for the teleportation to start.

The last thing I remember before being swallowed by white was Asia's smile.

* * *

[ORC Clubhouse]

"There are two types of Exorcists." Buchou explained.

After we had returned, it took around thirty minutes for me to finally calm down and for Buchou and the others to be sure that I wouldn't try doing something stupid. I knew there was no chance at me going back with Buchou and the others around. I was currently resting while my wounds healed.

"The first are the Exorcists who receive the blessing from God to perform exorcism in the name of justice. This group of Exorcist borrows its power from God and Angels to eliminate Devils. And there is another one. — "Stray Exorcists"."

I raised an eyebrow. "I heard Kiba use that word back with Freed, 'Stray Exorcist'. What are they exactly?"

"Exorcism is a holy ceremony that is performed in the name of God. But sometimes, there are Exorcists who start to enjoy the act of killing Devils. They are beings who have found killing Devils as joy and as their purpose of life. So they get kicked out from the Church without exception or they get erased for being found guilty."

I nodded. "I take 'erased' to mean 'killed'. Is that correct?"

"Yes. But there are those who survive. What do you think happens to those Exorcists?" She asked rhetorically. "It's simple. They go to the Fallen Angels."

"So even Fallen Angels have servants." I noticed. "The Angels who were rejected by Heaven and the Exorcists who were rejected by the Church. It makes sense that the two groups would work with one another if their shared goal is to kill Devils."

"Yes." Buchou agreed. "That's why they are called "Stray Exorcists". So the dangerous Exorcists who became addicted to Devil-hunts started to attack Devils and the humans with connections to Devils by borrowing powers from the Fallen Angels. The boy priest from earlier is exactly that. He's a "Stray Exorcist" who belongs to an organisation with the support of the Fallen Angels. They are not proper Exorcists, but they are still dangerous like the proper ones. No, since they have no restrictions on them, they are much harder to deal with than the actual Exorcists. It's not smart to deal with them. So, the Church you went to before does not belong to God but to the Fallen Angels."

I felt my heart stop.

If that was where the Fallen Angels were based, then that would mean that Raynare was there too...I literally almost walked straight to my death again. With my guard down, she could've killed me in an instant.

Stray Exorcists really were more dangerous. More-so to the humans then the Devils. The Devils at least usually have a way of defending themselves. That shitty priest was definitely the worst. His only thought was that of killing Devils. A group like that was dangerous enough that even I wouldn't take them on alone.

However...

I turned to Buchou. "I have to save Asia!"

Kiba and Koneko-chan readied themselves, as if they were preparing to stop me from jumping out the window again (long story. I had been desperate to leave when I was still in a frenzy...).

"It's impossible. How will you fight them?"

I raised my left arm and summoned my Sacred Gear. "This is how! I'll use my Sacred Gear to save her! I at least know enough about it to do that!"

Buchou shook her head. "You are a Devil. And she is a servant of Fallen Angels. It's the two kinds that cannot coexist. Saving her means making the Fallen Angels your enemies. …If that happened, we would also have to fight."

"I don't know why Asia is involved with the Fallen Angels and I don't care! I have to do some-"

"I forbid you from getting further involved with the Fallen Angels."

There was a pause as I processed what Buchou had just said. "What?" I couldn't help the dangerous tone in my voice.

Buchou crossed her arms. "I can't have my servant getting involved further trouble."

I felt something snap inside of me. I was so angry and sad at the same time. "That's all Asia is to you? 'Trouble'? A human life matters so little to you?!" I stood up, my leg having recovered enough for me to stand up. "You have NO qualms with leaving that innocent girl there?!"

Buchou sighed. She was really starting to piss me off. "Shirou, listen-"

"No! YOU listen! I just...I..." I was so angry that I couldn't even figure out what I planned to say.

"Fujimura-kun..." Kiba tried placing a hand on my shoulder, as if trying to calm or comfort me, but I smacked it away.

"Oh what? Because we're fellow servants we're suddenly best friends now? Is that it, Kiba?! I don't need any of that comforting bullshit!" Kiba backed away uncertainly. "Well get this: I do not like you. I don't like ANY of you!" I gestured to everyone. "The only reason I'd ever bother to speak to any of you is because I have no choice since I'm a servant of the spoiled princess over there!" Everyone blinked in unison.

"That's enough, Shirou!" Buchou was clearly getting angry by this point after being insulted.

"No! It's not enough! I have taken your 'I'm your master' shit since DAY ONE! I'm not some dog to be trained and put on a leash! If I wanted to be called some kind of beast or dog, I would just actually pay attention to the things everyone in this shit town say about me! And if you're enough of a cold, spoiled princess that you'd leave such a kind and innocent girl like Asia to whatever fate the Fallen Angels have in store for her, then I'd rather be a Stray Devil than serve you! I...I wish you had never brought me back! DEATH has to be better than serving you!" I took great delight in the shocked silence that followed, everyone staring at me. "NOW it's enough!"

I didn't wait for anyone to say anything back because I stomped out of the room. I grabbed onto the doorknow, shooting everyone one last glare. "I'm going home!" Then I slammed the door shut.

I continued walking away from the ORC clubhouse and I was surprised that no one had followed me.

I'd have figured that they would interpret that as a resignation and immediately hunt me down. I have no problems with just heading home even if they count me a Stray Devil. They have enough rules that they wouldn't kill Mako-nee. Maybe wipe her memories, but not kill her.

I waited until I was a fair distance away from the clubhouse that I finally let it out.

I punched the wall beside me. I hadn't realized I still had my Sacred Gear active until I created a large crater in the wall.

I then leaned against the wall of the building I just punched and slid down to the ground, my legs spread in front of me.

"Damn it...damn it all..." I slammed my normal fist against the wall this time.

I haven't changed a single bit since I was little. I was the same weak child as I was back then.

I'm not a hero.

I couldn't keep a single promise.

I was enough of an ass to take my anger out on the others. Even Buchou didn't deserve what I said to her. I was never angry with them in the first place. It was myself who I was angry at. For being so worthless...

I was truly a worthless Devil.

* * *

_The next day..._

I sat on a bench in a children's park. I had skipped school that day because I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to face the others after what I said yesterday. I would have no guarantee they wouldn't kill me on sight if they considered me a Stray.

My wounds from from the other day still hadn't completely healed and I was just being angry with myself.

With my injured leg and other injuries, I couldn't even take on Devil jobs in my state let alone take on the Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists. If there were others who were kinda strong like Freed, then I was in trouble...

I may as well just enjoy the peace...Ha. Yeah right.

When I wasn't thinking about how much of an ass I was to the others, I was thinking about Asia and the fact my career as a Devil probably just vanished in smoke.

But I had to save Asia somehow...but I couldn't help but wonder how she ended up in that situation...

That sad look she had on her face on the day we met...maybe if I had asked about it, things never would've ended up like this. Maybe this was all my fault...

I have to find a way to get stronger! And fast too! I have no idea what's happening to Asia right now.

Without strength, you can't do anything as a Devil. I'm a [Pawn], so I have to work harder than anyone else. [Pawn]'s are initially the weakest piece, but with enough hard work and effort, they can become incredibly powerful.

That was when a loud growl came from my stomach.

DAMN IT, STOMACH! Now's not the time for food!

I sighed after the growling continued. I had skipped breakfast that morning.

"OK, breakfast first, then I go back to finding a way to save-" That was when a familiar golden-color appeared in my vision. The blonde hair of a familiar girl.

She noticed me as well and both of our eyes widened in surprise.

"Shirou-san?"

I continued staring.

"A-Asia?!"

**And with that, I am finished! I apologize if the fight scene was unsatisfactory to anyone! It was just how I thought it'd play out. So yeah...Shirou has a total butthole moment and shows a bit of his weaker inner self. Showing more of his inner character here. Shirou has a mixed character and stuff...deep shite like that...So...**

**Thanks for the reads and reviews~!**

**Bye-Bye~!**


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